Monday, September 14, 2009

Significance Of Media Research

“While many people place the task of learning research high on the “Not to Do” list, the reality is that research is probably the only area in mass media that relates to everything. There isn’t a position in any of the mass media that doesn’t conduct or use research. That’s the reality. And if you plan to be successful in mass media, you must understand at least the basics of research.”

Roger Wimmer, Ph.D., An Introduction to Mass Media Research,

Every time when we have a “who, what, when, where, or why” question when using the mass media, you have raised a question that can be investigated. And that’s what this discussion is all about— trying to find answers to mass media questions. However, before we start, we need to understand a little about business and decision-making.

To see why research is significant in the mass media, consider for a moment some of the questions you could investigate:

  • Why do people choose to watch one television program over another?
  • How much time do adults 18 to 24 years old spend reading newspapers?
  • How has the Internet affected newspaper reading, TV viewing, radio listening?
  • Why some advertising campaigns are successful and others fail?
  • What makes a successful advertising sales person?

However, researchers are not limited only to getting involved in finding out what people want. Researchers also get involved in the other two steps of the process. For example, in reference to “Give it to them,” researchers find out the best way this can be accomplished. Assume for a moment that a television research project about programming uncovers an audience desire for more game shows on TV. Researchers need to find out such things as: What kind of game show? When should the game show be aired? What types of contestants should be included? Who should be the host? And so on.

Then there is the third step in the process: “Tell them that you gave it to them.” Once a new game show is developed, the viewers need to know that the show is available. Researchers find out how the program should be advertised and promoted. They test different approaches to find out which is most successful.

Research is involved in every step of the process. And regardless of whether you are involved in writing, production, talent, advertising, distribution, or any other area, you will be involved with research. There is no area of mass media that is not affected by research.

Mass media researchers use a variety of approaches to answer questions. Some research is informal and seeks to solve relatively simple problems; some is based on theory and requires formally worded questions. All researchers, however, must start with some tentative generalization regarding a relationship between two or more variables. These generalizations may take two forms: research questions and statistical hypotheses. The two are identical except for the aspect of prediction-hypotheses predict an experimental outcome; research questions do not.

There are two broad categories of research: qualitative research and quantitative research. During the past several years, the lines of distinction between qualitative and quantitative research have essentially disappeared.

Qualitative research: in-depth investigations using flexible questioning.

Quantitative research: in-depth investigations using inflexible or less flexible questioning.

As mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, research is used extensively in all of the mass media. So defining and stating how vast the areas of Mass Media Research is can also help understand its significance.

Electronic Media

For electronic media some of the procedures that will include media research are:

  • Program testing: research on program ideas, rough-cuts, or final productions.
  • Commercial testing: testing advertising messages that appear on radio, TV, or cable.
  • Music Research: obtain listener opinions about music that a radio station might play.
  • Performer Q: an indication of the popularity of various performers and entertainers.
  • Focus Groups: used for all types of preliminary and final research.
  • Market studies: an investigation of the perceptions of the entire market, usually within a specific age range such as 25- to 54-year-olds.
  • Format studies: research with respondents who listen to or prefer a certain type of music.
  • Format search studies: research in radio to find an available radio format in a given market.
  • Program element importance: identifies elements on radio or television that are most important to a specific audience.
  • Personality (talent) studies: analyses of on-air personalities.
  • Account executive research: analyses of the local and national sales reps with advertising purchasers.
  • Sales research: considered a value-added approach by a station where the station sponsors research for local clients. The results are usually used to prepare an advertising proposal for the client or clients.

Print. While there are many types of research conducted by the print media, these are the types of research that have gained most attention in the past several years:

  • Readership: the most widely used of all print research procedures including research in areas such as reader profiles, item-selection studies, reader-nonreader studies, uses and gratifications studies, editor-reader comparisons, and psychographic and lifestyle segmentation studies.
  • Circulation: research about who reads the newspaper or magazine, how can circulation be increased, and what the readers want to have included in their newspaper or magazine.
  • Management: research concerning goal setting by management, employee job satisfaction, and effects of competition and ownership on newspaper content and quality.
  • Typography/makeup: research on the effects of news design elements-specifically typeface and page makeup-on readership, reader preferences, and comprehension.
  • Readability: research on all the elements and their interactions that affect the success of a piece of printed material.
  • On-line media usage: research concerning the Internet and how it affects newspaper and magazine reading.

Advertising and Public Relations. Just as with the other media, research in advertising and public relations includes a variety of topic, some of which include:

  • Copy Testing: research on the effectiveness of advertising.
  • Reach and frequency: how many people are exposed to advertising.
  • Internet-related: research on how the Internet affects advertising and public relations.
  • Campaign assessment: research on the success of an advertising campaign.
  • Public relations: applied, basic, and introspective research to examine specific practical issues.
  • Public relations audit: a comprehensive study of the public relations position of an organization.
  • Social audit: a small-scale monitoring program to measure how well a company is living up to its public responsibilities.
  • Evaluation research: studies to judge the effectiveness of program planning, implementation, and impact.

Internet. The Internet has quickly become a mass medium, and it is changing every day. However, one thing is certain about the Internet, and that is it will provide a countless number of research possibilities for mass media researchers. Consider some of the possibilities:

  • On-line research: respondents answer questions using Internet-based questionnaires.
  • Web site research: what makes a good web site? How can more people be attracted to a web site?
  • Music testing: radio stations and music companies test short segments (hooks) of songs.
  • Advertising testing: respondents provide reactions to audio, video, and print advertising.