Research.
What are the different types of research?
For any radio or tv product, the research process is essential. Solid evidence collated from a variety of research methods and sound sources are key elements when producing factual media text.
There are various methods of research; Primary and Secondary are how we categorise each method, and the findings from each can be sub divided into Quantitative and Qualitative data.
Firstly there is primary research, which is also know as active research. This is original research that you conduct and produce yourself (hence the name active, because you have to physically do something to get your results). This can be in the forms of questionnaires and surveys, interviews or focus groups.
As well as this there is secondary research, which is also known as desk research (as it is usually done at a desk on a computer). This is research conducted, collated and published by someone other than yourself and can be in the form of newspaper or internet articles, online interviews or biographies. Secondary research is good because you can access a wide variety of information and opinions however it is essential you ensure you use credible sources, a brilliant secondary source of research is Google Scholar, it holds specific, topical research findings of people in a higher educations and also contains all of their sourcing references.
Within each type of research (primary and secondary) you have quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitave data will give you a statistic, a numerical or figurative piece of information that you can use for comparison, such as a percentage. You can gather this through surveys/questionnaires, third party databases or census publications. Qualitative data on the other hand will provide you with an opinion, so that you can develop a deeper understanding of peoples thoughts on your topic and text. These can be gathered from books, Internet or newspaper articles, periodicals, third party case studies or archives. Of course, within primary research you need to obtain consent from the people you interview/record to use on a live broadcast.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of research (primary, secondary, qualitative,quantative)?
As with anything, there are both advantages and disadvantages to each method.
Primary research
The advantages of primary research in forms of questionnaires and surveys, interviews and focus groups is that you can gain personal opinions from a wide range of different people in a short period of time/immediately. You can also collate a wide variety of answers from it including both statistics for comparison and also opinions for audience contribution and a further in depth research.
Of course there are always disadvantages on the other hand. Firstly, you can be biased with the people you interview or survey, you could only select certain genders or ages or political orientation. Secondly, it is very time consuming to conduct a decent amount of primary research. Then there is the issue of quality control, different people could be asked different questions in interview, and if you have assistance with conducting the interviews, you cant ensure everyone is asked the same ones.
Secondary research
The advantages of secondary research in the forms of articles, interviews, biographies or census’s are that there are a wide variety of ways you can source them. Firstly you can use the Internet and access numerous web pages from all over the world with a variety of opinions statistics and case studies that other people have undertaken. As well as this you can use old library and video archives, books on the specific topic and even biographies on poignant figures in your topic to get a variety or information.
The disadvantages of secondary research is that you cant always ensure that you are obtaining information from a credible source therefore it is important that you do enough research so that information overlaps, that way you can be sure the information you are collecting is valid.
Methodology
When conducting a lot of research for a production it is a good idea to create a methodology. This is a document that will detail where you looked and the processes you went through to gather your information and conduct your research.
For example if I wanted to know where to go to find out the readership of daily newspapers, I would firstly start online. I then might begin to build up a methodology by screen capturing and documenting the websites I visited and why I chose to use them during my research. If I was to use books, I would do the same by noting and possibly even photocopying the books used so that they are documented if I ever needed to return to them. If I was to find out the readership of daily newspapers I could start by looking at the National Office of Statistics, National Records and Statistics website, I could contact the distributers, the news company about their sales or I could simply do a primary study by standing outside of a shop and asking the people that have brought the papers what they have brought and why.
I was to research other figures as such then I can go to BARB (Broadcaster’s Audience Research Board) for tv figures, RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) for radio figures and NRS (National Records and Statistics) for newspapers and print.
Therefore to be successful at researching you need to demonstrate an understanding of how to research and why it is important. You need to know why people undertake research, how they ensure the information they have gathered is valid, and how they can use this to evidence and support their text. Research also helps you to understand the text topic better and means you can speak with more authority because you have the adequate knowledge of the subject.
Abiey Humphries 