Evaluation

After completing my research and evaluating my results, it became apparent that although I had completed a number of primary research methods as well as collecting secondary research, my research was some what inconclusive. The information I did find was limited and repetitive which made it difficult to draw an informative conclusion.

When searching for my secondary research I used the Google search engine and used a number of different search terms to find my results as well as searching through many pages of results. This was quite a methodical process as I searched for results regarding the different questions I had set; therefore I was able to keep track of results I had found and the relevance to each question. To improve on this I would use more than one search engine so I could accumulate a wider range of results. I also looked through books on new media and found a few results however many of them didn’t go into a lot of detail regarding gaming, and if they did go into more detail it wasn’t related to my area of research. Books are limited on what they could input to my research as a lot of what I wanted to find out was opinion based and most books will try to remain unbiased. It was also difficult as all the books I read were focused around the social impact of gaming, which was only related to one of my questions. As well as this, new media is a new area meaning content is limited and until more content is released, the results of my research in this area are limited. I would have preferred to have found more books related to gaming and new media which covered the area I was interested in researching. I found it difficult to find research when on the computers at college as many of the gaming sites were blocked. Also the majority of the sites that came up in my results were blogging sites and not necessarily reliable sources however this contrasted with what I was looking for as the majority of my questions were opinion based which therefore lead me to less reliable sources. I think this topic is in need of academic research as I came across no academic sources when completing my research, if I did come across any academic sites, they were unrelated to my research. I think I would have been able to make my research more reliable if I had been able to include an academic source.

I spent a lot of time gathering my secondary research and used a lot of the secondary sources in my report, they were useful when cross referencing my own research and some of the sources provided quantitative information which would have been difficult for me to gather myself.

By doing the secondary research first I was able to see what information was already available, meaning I could base my primary research on anything I was missing from my secondary sources. It also allowed me to modify questions I had set myself so I could find sufficient results ensuring I was relaying reliable information. In order to improve my secondary research I would have to spend a lot more time using different search engines on the internet for more reliable sources related to my topic of study. I would also read through more books for added information as I know they are a more reliable source and often have more depth.

I found it difficult to assess the reliability of a website or book as I couldn’t be sure they were remaining completely objective or whether it was biased and giving out unreliable information. To overcome this, I tried to use well known websites and articles such as newspaper reports although this raised its own problem in the fact that newspapers are notoriously one sided. I therefore tried to prove the reliability of sources by cross referencing when writing my report.

When starting my primary research it became apparent that the majority of my participants dominantly used Xbox over any other console which made me decide to focus my research about the one console. It is important to be flexible when researching as you have to search for results and some may not be specific to what you were originally looking for. By being flexible, you can use these results in a way that’s beneficial to you and in return, have more sources to back up your research.

After completing my primary research I was slightly disappointed with the results due to the fact I had very similar answers and not much controversy. I feel like I could have accumulated more results and opinions if I had completed a survey or questionnaire as I would have been able to target a larger range of people generating varied answers and therefore more useful results.

My sources were all reliable gamers who I knew would be truthful in answering any questions I put forward. I began my research with participant observation however soon stopped my involvement in the game as I was struggling to keep a clear mind as I was becoming aggravated at the game and was unable to remain unbiased in my analysis. By stepping back, I remained objective and was able to complete qualitative research. When completing my empirical research, the gamers were unaware of my observation meaning they continued playing as normal, not changing in anyway, giving me accurate results. However this could be classed as unethical as the gamers were not aware of my actions. To overcome this, I asked the gamers, when I had completed my observation, if they were opposed to me using the information I had drawn. I feel the results from my observation were effective however were only relevant to a small part of my investigation. I feel that the focus group and one on one interviews compliment each other as research techniques as they both provided answers which could be easily compared against each other. Also by doing the focus group first, I could see if there was anything missing or that I wanted to expand on and link it into my one on one interviews. This provided me with a lot of informative information and provided a lot of content, although as said earlier, I didn’t get a lot of variety in my answers. I feel there were aspects of my focus group which could have been improved to achieve better results, for example a wider range of demographics in my participants as well as different questions asked to try and encourage different and more detailed answers.  

My participants were chosen through their interest in gaming as they all regularly played on the Xbox, however I tried to vary the demographics in the hope of acquiring varied results, I wanted to include males and females of different ages and social economics, etc. All the answers given by the participants were useful and informative however, I could have really extended the results of my research if I’d had more participants of different social class and psychographics.  

Overall I feel my research produced limited results which I am quite disappointed with. To improve on this I would aim to research a wider audience of different demographics and psychographics. I could do this by creating a survey or questionnaire online as well as a written one which I could send out to large amount of people and generate more results.

Presentation

 

Focus Group

Focus group of 4 students, 3 male 1 female aged 17-18

Q1: What console do you use and how often?

Xbox = 4 Wii = 3 PS3= 1 all members of group play at least 1-3 times a week if not daily.

Discussing the Xbox

Q2: What features within Xbox do you us?

Facebook, market place (for demos and DVD’s), radio and music player. Used to use MSN.

Q3: What features do you think could be improved?

Facebook is too simple, if it included features such as Facebook chat, they may use it more. Also Sky is too complicated and expensive. They don’t know enough about it to want to use it.

Q4: What features would you add?

They would add Tumblr, Facebook chat, an Xbox blog to discuss game tactics and any problems they may occur and need help with, Skype and be able to take photos of yourself to have as your avatar. 

Q5: What other media forms do you have on whist playing?

Music on laptop so you don’t have to go through anything on your Xbox to change song, you can do it without disturbing your game. Internet to look up cheats, hints and tips, and sometimes on their mobile phone but find it hard to multitask.

Q6: Do you feel the added features have changed how you use the original forms?

Not changed.

One on one interview

I completed two interviews, asking both gamers the same set of questions to try and see what they think to the added features on consoles.

Interviewee 1: 21, male, administration clerk

Interviewee 2: 17, male, student

Q1. What game console(s) do you use and how often?

I use Xbox and play basically everyday.

I use Xbox and Wii, mostly Xbox though, most days of the week. I rarely use the Wii so I’ll just talk about Xbox during this.

Q2: What features of the console do you use and how often?

When the features first came out I went on them to see what they were but I don’t anymore. Zune is too slow, it gets frustrating and the movies you can rent are mostly in HD which is pointless if you don’t have an HD TV, also downloading the HD movies is slow and irritating so I don’t use it. As for Facebook and Twitter, I don’t use Twitter anyway but the Facebook is like a limited version of it so you can’t access everything or upload photos or anything so I don’t see the point in using it when the original one on the computer is so much easier. So basically I don’t use any.

I use the online gaming depending on if I payed for the subscription. Or the market place a few times a year maybe, the music player and radio quite often and I used the Sky TV once but I didn’t like it.

Q3: What features do you think could be improved and why?

I don’t want any improved. In fact my improvement would be to remove them. A console is for gaming, not for social networking or downloading a film.

I’d remove the Facebook and Twitter applications as I think they’re pointless and unnecessary. I like the market place as I think its good to find out about new games, however I’d remove the advertising. Sky TV was difficult to navigate and slow loading, I got a free trial of it but I wouldn’t pay for it as its so expensive.              

Q4: What features do you think could be added to improve the console?

Like I said, I’d remove the features altogether.

I don’t think I’d add anything really. I think an Xbox is for playing the games, I don’t see the necessity of anything added on unless its gaming related.

Q5: What other media forms do you use whilst using the game console?

I might have my computer on so I can look up hints and tips for games, find out achievements, that kind of thing, although I now use my Ipod for that but it’s the same kind of thing. I might have music on, although on some games it’s already available, like it links to your music player or songs it thinks you’ll like or to your favorite radio station and plays that. Although on some games it’s really annoying to have music on as well, it distracts away from it so I just turn it off.

Occasionally music from my laptop or the internet for cheats on games.

Q6: What are your favorite games to play by yourself? With a friend? Online?

By myself I play role play games like fable or oblivion. With friends I prefer action and sport like PES, Forza and Gears of War. Online, Halo, Call of Duty, Bad Company, more action games.

Role play games when I’m by myself as it gives me a sense of accomplishment, like Mass Effect. Other than that I like first person shooters such as Gears of War, Call of Duty and Halo. With friends I like Guitar Hero and Gears of War and Halo. As for online, I think it depends on how big the game is, I like massive games where you can play against loads of people at a time.

Q7: How often do you play online against others?

Rarely. If I have friends over and we get bored of playing each other then we might play online against other people, but I find people online annoying. They slag everyone off, betray you, if you don’t react quickly enough they kick you out the game and at the same time they yell abuse down the headset, being unnecessarily aggressive and annoying. Having said that, if you chose carefully what to play online you can actually have some decent games. Like Battle Stations Pacific. It’s a niche game so you don’t get as many of the idiots. Plus it’s complicated and hard so people want to play a proper game, it’s not one that you can pick up for a quick 5 minute game.

If I have the Xbox live subscription then I play online all the time, however it’s expensive so I cant always afford it.

Q8: Do you feel that the added features on the console have changed how you use the original format?

As I don’t use the features on the Xbox, it’s not changed at all. If the original formats weren’t around or were difficult to access then I’d most likely use the Xbox. I hate the MSN feature, I forgot to say that before. The conversations keep popping up in the middle of a game and it’s just irritating. I play Xbox to remove myself from the outside world, I don’t want to be easily contactable. The sky TV would be useful if I had sky already, however it’s so expensive if you get it just for the Xbox so I don’t use it. I can only think that the sky would be the only thing that changed anything though. Also, all these features are on Xbox Live which is assuming you have an internet connection. So if you don’t, you won’t be able to use them anyway.

Maybe made me use the radio less? I don’t think I actually used the radio that much before anyway but its convenient that its on the Xbox so I guess I use that less.

Primary Research

(Observing two males aged 21-22, both regular games)
Both players became easily absorbed into the first game (Halo Reach), with players leaning in towards the screen, the game has all their focus. Playing against each other created a minimal amount of banter and all conversation is about the game, if talking they were speaking strategically. The comments made about game play are very sarcastic, especially towards each other when something works to either players favor. Sentences about anything unrelated to the game are very rare, mostly just swearing or insulting the other player and being offensive. Players also seemed so absorbed in the game that they rarely finished a full sentence and they seemed to forget what they were trying to say. Gamers had no other media form on at the same time, so they're minds were completely focused on the game being played. Having said that, player 2 regularly sang to himself singing songs related to the killing he was doing in the game at the time. However as his focus was elsewhere, he often forgot words and resulted to humming or creating new lyrics about the game. The strong focus on the game began to fade after 20minutes when players started to become bored, they then turned to finding the funniest way to kill each other. The conversation then turned humorous and constant with regular jokes and laughing.

This is similar to when the players began a racing game (Forza 3). They began by choosing cars seriously and racing to their best ability. However after around 15minutes, game play turned into having fun, crashing into each other purposefully, as well as racing the wrong way around the track and finding the worst cars possible. A lot more conversation is had when racing and it is always light hearted and jokey, compared to the abusive and insulting conversations during Halo.

When playing sport games such as Fifa 2011, both players are aggressive and easily irritated by the game. There is no real skill to the game and decisions made by the game itself (such as when a free kick should be given) are sometimes false which only aggravates players more. The anger is now directed to the game instead of each other and both players are being sarcastic towards each other as well as the game. Player 2 is speaking a lot more, however comments are half complete and not entirely relevant, he repeatedly yelled ‘Cillit Bang’ at one point.

In all games played, the player in the lead was cocky and sarcastic, whereas the player losing constantly swears and gets angry. This is mainly player 1 in the lead, however when player 2 does better he instantly becomes cocky and player 1 becomes angry. I think this shows how gaming brings out the competitive side of people. It also appeared that the more experienced player, who won the majority of the time, is able to laugh and joke when he is winning, however when he gets killed or is losing, makes an excuse as to why and becomes very easily agitated and swears. Less experienced players also get easily agitated however not as easily, and they seem to get a lot more enjoyment out of doing something well on the game.

Both players get very agitated after not smoking for a length of time. This is more obvious around the games they found more aggravating such as the football. However when playing Halo, which held their attention for longer, the need for a cigarette was less apparent. I think this is a prime example of how games can absorb you and completely influence your mood and feelings.

When playing individually, on role playing games, the player is very focused and drawn into the game. He is somewhat oblivious as to what is happening around him. I have to repeat his name a number of times before he listens to me. The gamer has a lot of patience for this genre of game, able to play on it for hours at a time without becoming tired or bored of it. This is such a contrast to when the player is gaming online against strangers. He easily gets fed up and uninterested in the game, becoming frustrated at the other players.

Despite the heavy use of the console, the gamer has not once used the Facebook or Twitter functions. He briefly scrolls through the market place but doesn’t give it his full attention, he seems to be looking through it just for something to do, not with any intent to use it properly. He rarely uses the radio or music player function, when asked about it, he said it distracted away from game play. Also the radio function became annoying as he doesn’t particularly like the radio anyway. Overall he uses the Xbox for gaming not for the ‘add on’s’.

From observing this gamer, even though the extra features on the consoles are constantly being improved, I don’t believe it will lead to an increase of gaming. The gamer doesn’t use the features and seems to dislike the fact they are there. Although this is only observing a select gamer, I believe that many others will feel this way. I think that as long as the original formats are available, people will favor those over those available on the console.

By observing these gamers, I realize just how controlling games can become, I watched as both players became easily absorbed into games which resulted in them barely speaking for an amount of time. Although the term ‘social depravation’ seems quite severe, I believe that gamers could become so infatuated with the console and gaming that they would loose social skills, such as the aggressive language, limited speech and quick mood changes.

Secondary Research

Date	Activities	Sources found	How found?	Reliability
24.9.10	Assignment was set. Topic decided on and discussed. List of sub-questions created. Initial web searches- secondary research – Wikipedia etc	http://open.bbc.co.uk/newmedi aresearch/files/BBC_UK_Games_ Research_2005.pdf	Googled the topic – lots of results found, however a lot of these were not relevant.	Extremely reliable, from the BBC
29.9.10	Set questions, web searched for secondary research	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbo x_360 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ps3    - Wi-Fi, blu-ray capabilities, voice or text chat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii I had a lot of difficulty finding sites which had not been blocked by the school due to them being gaming based. This lead to me using Wikipedia to find some general facts about the consoles.	Used Google to research the questions Checked Wikipedia and followed links at bottom of their page.	Mostly reliable as information can be cross referenced with the links provided on the page.
1.10.10 6.10.10	Trying to find more useful links	http://www.intute.ac.uk/cgi- bin/browse.pl?id=artifact57 – academic site, had not got many relevant search returns http://www.economist.com/nod e/4246109 - quite old (2005) statistics, talks more about the issue of violence and sex, however says the educational benefits and training benefits such as flight simulations and surgeons etc. http://technorati.com/blogging/ article/blog-focus-xbox-live- social-media/ - some comments on the fact that no figures were given describing the use of facebook and twitter on Xbox live http://technorati.com/blogging/ article/blog-focus-xbox-live- goes-super/ - facebook and  twitter on Xbox	I researched on intute however it wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped	Economist – reliable, written for a quality newspaper so should be truthful. Xbox x2 – less reliable as it is more of an opinion with a quote and comments as to pure facts.

8.10.10	Final lesson getting secondary research. Looked at home so I was able to access more websites without being blocked.	http://www.xbox.com/en-  GB/live/bestoflive/   - Xbox - built in Wi-Fi, game demos, film streaming through zune, voice and text chat, arcade games, multiplayer gaming, sky TV, radio (last fm), facebook, twitter, Xbox live parties watch movies, play games, video chat with friends. http://www.nintendo.com/wii/o nline     - Channels: shop, can buy games, updates etc, internet, you can surf the internet, message board, photo, weather forecast, news channel, TV streaming, movies http://www.red3d.com/cwr/gam es/     -  Useful to find more links, however I didn’t find any links. None related to the topic I want to focus on, however I could use these links to try and find others and develop information I already had http://www.nma.co.uk/sky- player-launches-on- xbox/3005920.article       http://gaming.hexus.net/content /item.php?item=16427      http://kotaku.com/5018194/res earch-says-ps3-appeals-to- older-folks    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fin ance/newsbysector/retailandco nsumer/2789211/Wii-and-PS3- sales-boost-Games-profits.html      - statistics http://www.techwatch.co.uk/20 10/09/11/xbox-360-leads- console-sales-in-us-but- overall-slump/      http://www.associatedcontent.c om/article/1712963/the_realwo rld_effects_of_online_gaming _pg2.html?cat=41     http://www.streetdirectory.com /travel_guide/103868/gaming/t he_good_and_bad_impacts_of _online_gaming.html	Used search engines, Google, Yahoo and Bing.	Nintendo – reliable as it is the main website which will only post truthful information, however is likely to be biased towards its own product. NMA – reliable, you have to sign up to receive articles which are factual Kotaku – seemed quite general therefore I would not class it as extremely reliable, however his facts do relate to others found. Telegraph – written for a newspaper, should provide reliable statistics. From 2008. Techwatch – a trusted website within the gamer world, therefore more reliable. Associated content – seems reliable, I will cross reference to make sure that information is correct.

Immersed in media. Telepresence in everyday life. Published 2010 Routledge. Pages 87-89, 92-95. Game Cultures. Computer games as new media. Published 2006 Issues. Pages 6-7. http://www.stepmania.com/foru ms/showthread.php?t=14009   - not useful, was a forum therefore results would have been mostly  opinion based, not factual

Books- reliable, they were well referenced and published within the last 5 years. Forum – not reliable

Reliable websites

Within my research I will have to make sure that my research is reliable. To do this, I will check each website that I use. I will see who wrote the website or article. I could cross reference the author and see what other articles they have written, or the response they have had to their previous work. This will give you a good indication as to if the work is reliable and trustworthy. You would also see what type of website it is, websites for newspapers are going to be more reliable than a blog, forum or fan page for example. A lot of comments on blogs or forums are bias and may be untruthful. Therefore I would question its reliability. I would also look at why the article has been written, is it for personal use, for a company/work based, or commenting on an article etc. When the work was submitted is important when doing research, you want to check that the work is up to date and recent. This is important for things such as researching statistics etc.

Dubstep research method

Dubstep demographic research. you would research into:

·         Websites

·         Record labels

·         Artists

·         Blogs

·         Forums

·         Radio stations

·         Magazines

 Research history to gain a general understanding of the topic. 

Look through SERPS and look into popular existent sites. Check out related searches for other ideas. 


Visit double click where you can find some of the more popular websites around the topic which will give you an idea of the websites popularity and other sites which your target audience visit. 


Look at back link which will help you get an idea of the scale of the site as it will tell you how many links there are on the net to the site your looking at.


Hunt for directories to do with the topic. Document URLs and research them in terms of their quality and relevance. Look at other audiences which could be linked in with your target (example, dupsteps sub genre is Urban which links in with clothing, there fore a clothing audience is included) You would then research through these other sites to find a wider audience.

Other forms of research

Experiments: a test to see if something is true.
This would be good as it can give you solid results, then you can give correct figures when advertising a products etc. For example, with skin care products you would experiment to find out how the product works with the consumers and how effective it is. The drawback to this method is that the consumer may not want to be experimented with. you would have to ensure you got the correct target audience to provide the best results. It also may not be completely reliable as to test the product with a significant amount of people would be costly therefore a smaller number of people may be used and therefore effecting results.

Participant observation: the researcher participates in the activity in order to better understand it.
This is good as the researcher can fully understand the product and use it to its full potential. It also means any mistakes in the product or technical faults etc can be identified and corrected as the consumer may not understand that there is actually a problem with the product. The bad this about this is that the researcher already understands how to work the product and therefore has an advantage over the general consumer. Also the researcher has a bias opinion and may be reluctant to change the product.

Historical research: looking at the history and development of something, or studying old examples of something and comparing with contemporary examples.
This is a good research method in the fact that if for example the product is a computer game, the researcher will be able to compare the oldest game to the newest game, therefore he can see what changes have been made and what has stayed the same. He can then look into it further and decide if he should change more or create new things, what went well before and why things were kept similar etc.
A drawback to this method is that ideas may not progress quickly and may focus around old ideas.

Rhetorical analysis: analysis of the techniques used to persuade the audience (can tell us something about the audience and the purpose of the text)
This method works well on persuasion for example with skin care products, the carefully chosen script will help persuade the audience that this product is best for them. It would suggest the audience are slightly gullible and therefore the researcher will have carefully selected their target audience. This method would also encourage word of mouth advertisement as once one consumer has bought the product they will most likely tell friends who may then go and purchase the product.This is good as a research method as it shows how the audience respond to the media.
A drawback to this is that there are a lot of these techniques around therefore consumers are becoming wise to it. This method is not particularly specific or factual, therefore I would be less likely to use it.

Comparative analysis: research that compares/contrasts behaviours/media products.
The comparison between products, for example, magazines. By comparing different women's magazines, you can understand what topics would be in different magazines for different audiences and what new ideas you could introduce into a different magazine etc. This could be beneficial to challenge your rivals and bring new ideas to a different magazine, also find out new ideas and maybe target a different audience that's not already being targeted. The drawback to this is that to get fully beneficial results, you would have to compare a significant number of magazines which would be time consuming. The fewer items you compare, the less informative your results will be.

After completing a task using comparative research between two websites I found I don't like using this method. I found the method to be very subjective as I found it difficult to be unbiased in my opinion. To complete this method successfully you would have to be extremely objective.


Competitor analysis: close analysis and rating of a range of competitor's products.
This method is good for seeing what products are already out there and enabling you come up with fresh ideas which are nothing like anything anyone else has done yet, also for expanding on an idea had by someone else and improving it. This gives you a unique selling point which helps advertise your company. The drawback to this is that you may find yourself copying ideas and not coming up with fresh, new products.

One on One interview

One on one interviews are good however not time effective. They allow you to obtain a lot more specific answers as you can use follow up questions to explore deeper into the question. They allow for open questions to be asked and you are able to guide them in the direction of the answer you need. A disadvantage would be that is isn't anonymous therefore people may hold back on their answers and not answer as truthfully as they may do if it was an anonymous questionnaire. The person may not answer the way you wanted them to answer and therefore effect your research. Note taking is not the most effective way of recording an interview. To be thorough, you would need to record the interview on tape and transcribe it later on, however this can be time consuming and can become costly.
I don't particularly like the use of one on one interviews. I can see the positive aspects of them however i feel they aren't time or cost effective and will probably not give you the volume of answers you could receive through other methods, although i do understand you may not get the same in depth answers from other forms.

Questionnaires.

There are many pro's and cons to using questionnaires. You have to consider whether it is a reliable form of research. People may lie in there answers giving you incorrect results or they may answer in an open question which is not relevant to your research. To amend this, a carefully structured questionnaire can overcome some of the problems and therefore be an effective research method reaching a wide range of people and gathering varied results.
I like the use of questionnaires as I feel they are a quick way of getting information from your target audience, however I would use another research method along side this to ensure I received accurate results, however this may not be cost effective. Questionnaires are good to use for close questions however difficulties come when open questions are used as you can get such a variety of results which may not be beneficial. Questionnaires must remain unbiased otherwise will attract unfair and incorrect answers.

Audience Figures

There are many websites where you can gain information about audience figures, whether it be viewing figures for TV or listening figures for the radio. it is important information to have for a number of different reasons. it will highlight the success or underachievement of a show, it will determine when the show is broadcast (peak/off-peak), the success of the station, whether the station is worth investing in, rates charged for the advertisers and the choice and pay of performers within the show.

We got together in focus groups to find out what advertising methods work well.
we found viral works well, if friends recommend a link to you then you are more likely to click on it. No one really liked text messages, we all agreed if a text was sent to us we would generally delete it without looking. no one liked pop-ups as we fear that we would get a virus as a result of clicking on the advert.

i like the use of focus groups as i feel you have voiced your opinion openly and are part of a select group and therefore may be listened to more. most focus groups will award money for taking part which is a good incentive for people to do it and they may therefore give better answers.

Why and how does the media use research?

Market research - target audience, competition, distribution, funding, content, sponsorship and advertisers
Good research to begin with can save money later on and is attractive to advertisers.

Audience Profiling (demographics)- gender, age, occupation, ABC1(social class) , average budget, sexuality, living arrangements,
Psychographics (personality and interests) - often a magazine will create their ideal person with specific details naming and designing a lifestyle

Social media research - is being used to listen to customers and ask them questions. products are starting to be launched based on social media research. social networking sites such as facebook and twitter can largely contribute to questionnaire responses. social media research is only beneficial to companies whose target audience engages with social media. social media research doesn't reach all of the intended market so some traditional research techniques may also be necessary. by using social media research, fans of the product can easily contact the company to share their views on a product and suggest changes or improvements they might wish to see. this is also a much more cost effective way for companies to get instant feedback from consumers.

Hargrave, 2010, Social Media Research, accessed on 09/09/10

i like the use of social media research as i think its a good way to keep in touch with their target audience specifically, especially with the likes of facebook as consumers specifically 'like' the group and are therefore changes made to the product will directly affect them as a consumer of the product.
there may be a few drawbacks to social media research. for example, your target audience may not be accessible meaning a different research method would need to be used. 

Research Methods.

Primary and Secondary research.

Primary research - straight from the source.
Examples; news reporters, surveys and questionnaires, one on one interviews (get more specific answers and more personal information), focus groups (specifically chosen (target audience) groups to voice opinions on a certain products), observation, empirical (research you can observe, example, someones behaviour), contact (get in touch with (example) the author of a book, director of a film etc, to talk to them), chat rooms/forums.
Secondary research - passed on information from another source.
Examples; Books, Internet, newspaper specialised articles (media guardian, telegraph technology section), radio 4 (the media show), podcasts.

Both primary and secondary research would both be used to ensure that information is correct and reliable.


Quantitative research

Research using numbers.
As a short task, we looked through magazines to see if they were representing ethnic minorities fairly. We counted the number of white models and article features and the number of coloured. White had a much higher count throughout the magazine appearing 10 times the amount compared to coloured. We also found that the majority of articles used a white model, this meant that a lot of the bigger images throughout the magazine were white and therefore white seemed to dominate. The magazine we used was 6years out of date which would have had an effect on our results so to improve our research i would have used up to date magazine and researched over a range of magazines with different target audiences.
This technique is very general, i think if more detail was wanted on the subject then more research would have to be completed such as why coloureds appear less frequently than whites.
However this technique is good for providing quick statistics.