EVALUATING PRIMARY RESEARCH

Assignment 1 task A

By Monique Todd

WHAT DOES PRIMARY RESEARCH MEAN?

Primary research is when you find your own information through using your own knowledge and research which you do, for instance, asking people questions and carrying out questionnaires and interviews. Primary research is the complete opposite to Secondary research which instead of using your own knowledge consists of using books and the internet etc. Primary research is a lot more reliable than using secondary research because its more precise as sites such as Wikipedia is not always a reliable source to use because it can be easily edited. The only disadvantage of using primary research is that it costs more for example producing questionnaires or paying someone to hand the questionnaires out but you know by using your own knowledge your less likely to go wrong.

USING OPEN AND CLOSED QUESTIONS

Open questions:

An open-ended question is designed to encourage a full, meaningful answer using the subject's own knowledge or feelings. It is the opposite of a closed-ended question. Open-ended questions also tend to be more objective and more important than closed-ended questions. Openended questions typically begin with words such as "Why" and "How", or phrases such as "Tell me about...". Often they are not technically a question, but a statement which completely asks for a response.

Closed questions: A closed-ended question is a form of question which

can normally be answered using a simple "yes" or "no", a precise simple piece of information, or a selection from multiple choices for example Do you know your weight or What's your height ect.

Quantitative research: Quantitative research is about asking people for their

opinions in a structured way so that you can produce hard facts and statistics to guide you. To get reliable statistical results, its important to survey people in fairly large numbers and to make sure they are a representative sample of your target. Quantitative research is used widely in social sciences such as psychology, economics, sociology, and political science, and many others. Research in mathematical sciences such as physics is also 'quantitative' by definition, though this use of the term differs in context. In the social sciences, the term relates to experiential methods, originating in both philosophical positivism and the history of statistics, which contrast qualitative research methods.

Qualative Research: Qualitative research seeks out the why, not the how of
its topic through the analysis of unstructured information such as things like interview transcripts, open ended survey responses, emails, notes, feedback forms, photos and videos. It doesnt just rely on statistics or numbers, which are the area of quantitative researchers. Qualitative research is used to gain insight into people's attitudes, behaviours, concerns, motivations, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. Its used to inform business decisions, policy formation, communication and research. Qualative research is all about exploring issues and also happens in our everyday lives even if were at home.

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR A MAGAZINE

1. 2.

3. 4. 5.

6.

7. 8.

How old are you? Do you prefer a magazine to be the following.. Bright and colourful, dull with no colour short and snappy or very informative? Do you have a particular favourite magazine? Whats your favourite thing to see included in a magazine? Do you prefer your magazine to include real life stories or to be based on celebrity gossip? Do you prefer cartoon images or pictures which are informative? Do you like a magazine to have lots of advertisements? Do you like your magazine to be full of puzzles and word searches?

WHAT DO PEOPLE PREFER THEIR MAGAZINE TO BE LIKE

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 bright and colourful Dull with only a few pictures short and snappy very informative Male Female

For this question what do people prefer their magazine to be like, bright and colourful was voted the second highest which was obvious because every magazine includes bright colours to attract the readers attention if there wasnt any bright colours used in a magazine the magazine wouldnt sell as well. The bright colours of a magazine is what makes the magazine look a whole lot more interesting and you usually find that there's a contrast of colours which are used to stand out. Very informative was voted the most popular which is also very normal however it was mostly voted by women which goes to show that women prefer to read more than men. This is also shown because yet again there was one vote for short and snappy which goes to show that men dont like to read heaps of information they like to keep it concise to the point.

WHAT'S PEOPLES FAVOURITE MAGAZINES

2.5 2

1.5 Male Female 0.5

0 Kerrang Mens health match of the day Ok More Elle heat none

This pie chart shows the popularities of different magazines. This was interesting to see because it gave me an idea of peoples different personalities. Each magazine are all different and unique in there own ways they range from men's health to fashion. However most people didnt know how to answer this question because a lot of people chose none as there option which just shows that there is many magazines in the worldwide to choose from so people are spoilt for choice..

WHATS PEOPLES FAVOURITE THINGS TO BE

INCLUDED IN A MAGAZINE
4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 sport fashion gossip on celebs music Male Female

It was obvious that these would be the results for what people like to see included in a magazine. The highest votes were based on sport which was only voted by men so there was no surprise there as this reinforced the stereotype that men mainly prefer to read about sport. On the other hand only Max voted music as his favourite thing to see included in a magazine which could just mean that maybe hes not a really sporty person and more into music. Fashion was voted the most by women which just goes to show that women are really wanting to keep updated with all the latest trends. This again is a stereotypical sort of answer. However, I realise that this a small sample of people and therefore not necessarily reflective of the whole student population.

DO PEOPLE PREFER A MAGAZINE TO INCLUDE REAL

LIFE STORIES OR JUST TO BE BASED ON CELEBRITY GOSSIP

This question was quite interesting because in most magazines the majority of them are mainly based on celeb gossip however real life stories was voted the most by people men in particular. It wasnt unusual that men voted real life stories rather than celeb gossip because celeb gossip is aimed at women. This is stereotypical because some men might like to read the latest gossip but we just assume that they only like to read sport ect. There was a few votes from women for celebrity gossip but more women chose real life stories which was actually really fascinating to see it just goes to show rather than listening to whos the latest celebs dating or who's had plastic surgery women like to actually read about the reality of what people go through and it inspires them more.

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 real lifes stories celebrity gossip Male

Female

DO PEOPLE PREFER CARTOON IMAGES OR

PICTURES WHICH ARE INFORMATIVE
6 5 4 3 2 1 Male Female

0
cartoon images Informative pictures

For this question which I asked men and women cartoon images was more so popular then informative images accept cartoon images was picked by 5/5 of the boys. This was likely to happen because boys have a different level of maturity to women and they prefer something maybe more funny and animated to capture there eyes and minds rather than something which is educational or serious. Women had chosen informative pictures which yet again is likely to happen because informative pictures include lots of details which indicates what the articles are really about.

DO YOU LIKE A MAGAZINE TO HAVE LOTS OF

ADVERTISEMENTS

none

Female Male lots of advertisements

This question included a variety of different answers although this graph isnt entirely clear we can still see an outline of the votes which people took. The question do you like a magazine to have lots of advertisements was mainly answered no this was specially by the men which is understandable because the majority of the products which are advertised in magazines are based on more women's products rather than men's such as perfumes or the latest trends. Most women answered that they did like advertisements to be included in a magazine because it encourages them to go shopping and keep up with the latest fashion.

DO PEOPLE LIKE A MAGAZINE TO BE FULL OF PUZZLES AND WORD SEARCHES ECT.

4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 full of puzzles and worsearches none

The bar chart shows the results on which if people prefer their magazines to be full of puzzles and word searches or to not have them included at all. The light pink colour represents the male votes and the dark red represents the female votes. The results for this question showed that more men than women liked puzzles and word searches to be included in a magazine which shows that they prefer maybe a challenge or something which keeps then motivated rather than just sitting reading about peoples lifestyles. I wasnt sure which would most likely score the most votes but It has made me realise a lot more between the differences of men and women.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR MEDIA

When you walk into a shop what makes a magazine stand out to you and why? If you had the chance to improve a magazine which would you choose? Which famous celebrity inspires you the most? Whats your favourite genre of films you like to watch? What music do you like listening to and how might this relate to how you feel? Would you say that if magazines didnt include advertisements the products which are advertised wouldnt be as successful? What to you makes a good television programme enjoyable to watch? Do you prefer to see fashion/sport in a magazine rather than gossip

1.

2. 3. 4. 5.

6.

7. 8.

Why does this interest you more?

THE SUMMARY OF THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

I personally think that the interview questions were much more interesting than the questionnaires because I actually got a insight into peoples personalities such as the music they listen to ,or the sort of films they like watching. By just interviewing people and asking these sort of questions such as which celebrity inspires you. I was able to really get to know people more. The question Which celebrity inspires you? was probably one of the most alluring questions I had asked because when I interviewed Danni, Becca, Katie, Ben and Michael, the majority of them chose an actress/actor which actually they relate to whether its through similar backgrounds or someone they feel resembles them. Tulisa was chosen twice by Danni and Becca because the fact that shes come from a hard background and has made something of herself makes her unique and a role model to young women. However Ben chose Daniel Craig who doesnt relate to him he just thinks hes a god actor. Katie chose Cheryl Cole because like Tulisa Cheryl Cole also came from a hard background and has made a huge success of herself. Another personal question I asked was How does the music you enjoy listening to relate to how you feel? each person had different answers such as Paramore, Jessie J,Adele,Tinie Tempah etc. The lyrics in these different songs some how relate to them whether its something in their everyday lives or whether its a time where they have been through a rough patch they feel like the words match exactly how they feel. A question I thought was really unusual was Would you say that if magazines didnt include advertisements the products wouldnt be as successful? Danni and Becca both gave me a contrast of answers but they both made really good points Danni replied to my question I think advertisements in magazines are false like when theyre advertising a mascara for example they make the lashes look extra long and thick but when I go to buy the mascara my eyelashes dont make any difference . This just shows that products are all edited and made to look amazing so the product sells well but in fact its fooling us all. Beccas point was that it wouldnt really make a difference if their was no advertisements in magazines because they are advertised on billboards anyway so the product would still be successful. What type of Genre do you like and why? received a unanimous result of Horror. I concluded that they all like the suspense and impact it gives on them when watching the film. A quote from Becca was you never know what to expect with horror it keeps you off the edge of your seat. Ben also said I like the thrill of feeling scared. Fashion and sport was also chosen to be popular in a magazine rather than gossip which is not unusual because these days its about keeping up with the latest trends or encouraging sport to give people the motivation. A quote from Danni,' I prefer a fashion magazine because I see things I like and it makes me want to go shopping.