Research Techniques

Types of Research Methods:

- Internet search engines such as: Google, Yahoo, Bing (All are secondary research methods
- Survey's and Questionnaires (Primary research methods)
- Interviews (Primary)
- Textual Analysis (Primary)
- Industry Websites (Secondary)
- Books & Newspapers (Secondary Research)
- Radio and Television
- Email & Letters
- Audience Feedback

Quantitative Data: This data is either statistical or numerical based. This type of data can be collated from surveys where I may find patterns or trends with the answers that I received. For example, I did a quick survey asking people which front cover they liked the most ( I will be posting my results on this blog soon).
Qualitative Data: This is data that is based on words. For example this type of data may result from using research methods like books and magazines (as I will analyse the words in them).

Data that I used:

- Music Magazine blog portfolio
- Textual analysis of existing magazines
- Looked at all previous notes that I made in class
- I used the internet to search for other and current existing material mainly for inspiration to boost and explore my own creativity
- Survey

Primary Research: Pro's and Con's

Textual Analysis:
Pro - gives me a thorough insight into how to make my own music magazine
Con - I have to take care when analysing other relevant magazines so that I do not simply copy ideas and simply use the analysis as an enhancer for my own ideas.

Questionnaires:
Pro - I can get answers quickly, making the entire data collection time efficient
Con - I have to keep in mind that the answers that I receive may not be entirely true as people may have provided me with answers that they think that I wanted to hear rather than their actual opinion. This is known as desirability bias. In addition to this, if the questions are not planned with caution then the answers may not be relevant or helpful. E.g 'is my magazinegood?' then I may receive an answer such as 'yeah' or 'quite good' or even 'no' without explanation. Instead questions asking why should be put in place such as 'what do you like about this magazine?' or 'what could be improved about this magazine?'

Secondary Research: Pro's and Con's

Internet:
- Copyright issues
- Sites such as Wikipedia may not be accurate and can therefore be unreliable
- SPAM with the internet and cons to donate money as well as pop up adverts while researching
- Information provided may be irrelevant
- Information overload / too much detail makes it increasingly difficult to filter and select information - internet isn't free and taxes are expenses