Research Techniques Notes

Types of Research:

• Audience research - the analysis of who consumes what media products and why
• Market research - investigations into the way that products could produce income by looking at the demands of consumers
• Production research - the research conducted to inform the production process of a media product e.g background info, locations, legal and ethical requirements

Primary Research 

Primary research involves material and resources and information which has been found 'for the first time' by the researcher. This would include material found using techniques such as:

• Observations made when viewing an exhibition, show, performance or on visiting location.
• Interviews with people
• Reports of Meetings/Discussions with people
• The collection of information from questionnaires or surveys
• Focus group activities 

Secondary Research

Secondary research is information or material which is collected by looking at the findings of others.Secondary research would include:

• Referring to books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
• Gathering information from the internet
• Making notes on information presented on audio visual formats like dads, videos or cds.
• Collecting information from CD ROMs

Reliablitiy and Validity 

There are many techniques that can be employed when researching. However it is vital that you choose the right one to ensure that your information is reliable and valid.

Reliablity: whether this can be trusted as a source of information. Could it be biased by peoples opinions or effected by flaws in their research methods? If this activity was done again, would it get the same results?

Validity: The relevance of information to your investigation. Can you determine that it proves what you think it does?