Use your knowledge and understanding to draw up a research proposal in preparation for your documentary project outlining the methods and forms of research you will use to gather information for a documentary film

IDEAS FOR A DOCUMENTARY FILM

I have a number of ideas for a documentary film.  For example: suicide, youth representation, Cambridge, social media and YouTubers.  I do really like the idea of doing suicide and through out the documentary I will explain why people commit and also why it is more common in men than woman.  Youth representation might be interesting to develop on because as a youth myself I find it interesting that the older generation have a lot of hate against us and also there are a lot of stereotypes about youths now-a-days.  I thought about doing a documentary on Cambridge due me living there and it is the city where the one of the most famous universities in the world is.  Social media and YouTubers I felt like because they both use the Internet and also a lot of people use social media to get to find out about people.

METHODS

Practical:

For the documentary project I think I will do some interviews (an example of practical method) people to gather information due to them giving me facts I wouldn’t know, and also I find interviews very personal – sometimes the people I am asking questions to might tell us a story about the chosen project.  Another example of practical method is surveys so by doing a survey I can figure out a lot of people’s answers about a certain project and what their opinions of it are. 

Theoretical:

Another way of getting information on a subject of your choice is to use public libraries – libraries will have a lot of books/sources on the subject, which will be very beneficial to research facts.  Also academic journals could help finding out facts or diary entries from people who knew about the subject.

  

FORMS:

Primary – I would use this form of research because it makes it more personal due to myself gathering the information myself and also I feel that it I have more control of what information I gather.  Examples of primary research I will use to gather information for the documentary film is having interviews with people and also making questionnaires. 

Secondary – This research might be slightly more helpful as it is using information other people have written which may be more reliable.  An example of a very good secondary source I will be using a lot is reading books. 

Identify a range of examples of research carried out for media production

Identify a range of examples of research carried out for media production


The purpose of research for a media production to see whether or not members of the public/industry will be used or not.  Examples of demographics are: gender, age, race, location, culture and etc.
There are two major types of research - qualitative and quantitate.

Qualitative

This research suggests on more the 'why' instead of the 'how' during the production process.  In other words, this research can measure and count information or data.  An advantage of this is that it looks a lot deeper into the data than just analysing charts, however a disadvantage is the background information might be missing due to the process not being completed fully.

Examples of qualitative research is 1-1 interviews, questionnaires where you write down your opinion and costumer feedback forms.

Quantitate

However, this research is now the 'how' of the process.  Examples of this research is either closed questions or on the phone interviews.  This research includes both primary and secondary techniques (producing ratings/viewing figures) which is an advantage when the data is collected it is easier to carry it out as a form of chat. A disadvantage of this is that as it is based the figures, they might not be up to date.

Primary and secondary research

Primary - This research is information you have gathered yourself without using sources. For example, running a focus group or producing a survey and then asking members of the public to answer the questions.

Secondary - On the other hand, this research is done by someone else - you will be able to find information from books or searching the internet for facts.

There is also production research.  This research will allow you to identify what resources I will need to use for the media production and also whether it will be successful in the industry or not.

Commercial viability - Will the media industry sell well? Will my production be better than everyone else's?

Finance - Do you know how much money you will need to make the production?  Is it going to be a low or high based budget?

Personnel - Is there enough crew members working on the production?  Is there enough pre/post production crew members?

Equipment and technology - Do you have the current software in order to produce this production? If not, will you need to update any?  For post-production, you might have the latest version of the software you use in order to make the production look better.

Timescale - You will have to consider when to release the product and think when a lot of members of the public buy goods (e.g. Christmas time is very popular as a lot of people are buying presents for their loved ones).


Bibliography

http://schniz-n-tish.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/market-and-production-research-in-media.html

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vAC-Lo8JfGsC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=examples+of+research+carried+out+for+media+production&source=bl&ots=0XDbewvxgZ&sig=rfmEiGg-xoX3dVNq3OVMjA1Uo58&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPu_T6l6DKAhWB7BQKHdIiCVsQ6AEISTAG#v=onepage&q=examples%20of%20research%20carried%20out%20for%20media%20production&f=false

http://makedaroberts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/unit-3-research-techniques-for-creative.html

Find out the types of research carried out, the methods and sources of research and the purposes of the research

This blog post is going to be talking about the types of research carried out, the methods/sources of research and the purpose of research.

Type of research	Explanation
Qualitative	When research is used to gain an understanding of reasons (underlying), opinions and motivations.
Quantitative	Used in research when it wants to obtain information about the world
Clinical
Trail	This means when the research is directly involves a particular person or group of people, which uses material from humans (e.g. their behaviour)
Medical	This research is when it is the broad area of science and it involves the investigation of the biological process, and also the causes of the disease – this is done carefully through experimental/observation and lab work.
Market	The action/activity of gathering information about consumers’ needs/preferences.
Survey	It is one of the most important areas of measurement in applied social research.
Participatory	This research is an approach which communities/emphasizes participation and action.

Methods	Meaning and examples
Practical	This means when planning of a project is done correctly.  Surveys, interviews and field-level investigation are examples of this method and they all allow achieving the correct information.
Theoretical	This is a non-empirical approach to research.  Examples of this method involves public libraries, court rooms and also academic journals (which are published)

Sources	Examples
Primary	Letters Official records Survey results Unanalysed statistical data
Secondary	Discussions Evaluations Syntheses Analyses of primary/secondary source information

There are loads of different reasons why we do research – the three purpose examples are exploratory, descriptive and explanatory.  Explanatory research means the research is conducted for a problem which has not been identified very clearly.  This type of research happens often before we know enough to make a conceptual distinctions or an explanatory relationship which also helps to determine the best research design/data collection methods/selection of subjects.  The purpose of this research is when a researcher has an idea/observed something/seeks to understand more about it.  Descriptive research is when a study that is designed to depict the participants in an accurate way – this research is more of describing the people taking part instead of the research itself.  The purpose of descriptive research is that it is where the researcher tries to describe what is happening in a lot more detail, filling in the missing parts and also expanding the understanding.  Explanatory research means research which is implies that is questioned and intended to be explained, rather than describing it.  The purpose of this is to have an attempt to connect ideas I order to understand the cause and effect, meaning that the researchers need to explain what is currently happening. 

The role of the researcher in media production and the importance of research to the production process

This blog post is going to be talk about the role of the researcher in media production and the importance of research to the production process...

The role of the researcher in the media production involves important duties – for example; organise/develop program ideas, using their knowledge/understanding of the industry requirements and also present their ideas to professionals who decide whether they like it or not. If the professionals like the idea, the researcher will develop it further to make it more realistic.  As an alternative they can produce original ideas (program) – this can be considered by the producers, broadcasters, production companies and more decision makers. The researcher as well is a fact checker/brief writers who will then write their own scripts for on-screen presenters.

Responsibilities

Keep up to date on contact lists

Being able to access important information from different sources

Need to source/suggest suitable contributors

Demonstrate their inputs into each production

Be aware of legal/ethical action when announcing information to the public/press

Have excellent verbal/written communication skills

Excellent presentation skills

Pay precise attention to detail

Have a methodical approach towards work

Be able to think of good ideas and think visually

Show strong problem solving skills

Have advanced IT skills

Show both diplomacy/sensitivity when working in a team

The researcher also needs to have a good knowledge if the relevant regulations/associated procedures are included in copyright, data protection, public liability and also how to deal with the regulatory requirements.  The requirement that it is definite to be a researcher is knowledge of the requirements of the health and safety legislation/procedures.     

In order to be a researcher you won’t need a specific qualification but you do need a degree in either media-related/drama course or a specific course.  You will need to start as a runner in order to become a researcher, or you could go into training which will get you to the same carer choice (researcher). 

The importance of being a researcher in the media production is that the process is very high which means that the production stage of the job is only based round the research, so this is when the researcher will gather up facts around the specific topic they are doing and making sure it is right.  Once they have finished planning the production, the director/producer will confirm it is time to start filming/planning to film.

Deductive and inductive research

Deductive and inductive research

Please provide visual examples to illustrate your answers.

Explain what deductive research is?  Give an example

Deductive research is a theory that is aimed and approached.

Explain what inductive research is? 

Inductive research means that the approach is concerned with the generation of the new theory, which is merging from the data.  

What are the differences between inductive and deductive research?

The difference between two research topics is that inductive is completely the opposite than deductive.  While deductive research begins with a hypothesis, inductive uses research questions to narrow down the scope of study.  Another difference is that the majority of inductive approaches are associated by qualitative research whereas deductive is quantitative.  

Bibliography:

http://deborahgabriel.com/2013/03/17/inductive-and-deductive-approaches-to-research/

http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/sociological-inquiry-principles-qualitative-and-quantitative-methods/s05-03-inductive-or-deductive-two-dif.html

Audience research

Audience research

1.     What is audience research?

Audience research is when any communication research is constructed on audience members to gather information. 

2.     What is the purpose of audience research?

The purpose of audience research is to have members of the public view the product before it goes on sale in order to see if they like or not and see if it is not a waste of money.

3.     What are audience categories?

Examples include:

Gender

Age

Religion

Status

Race

Nationality

Social status

4.     What methods of gathering information are used for audience research?

Surveys

Interviews

Observations

People-meters

5.     What is a demographic profile?

A term used in marketing/broadcasting, which is where you describe a demographic grouping or marketing segment. Demographic information is used in media marketing in order to classify audience members into groups such as age, gender, race and sexuality.

6.     What are the socio-economic categories?

Non-working (unemployed)

Working class

Skilled working class

Lower middle class

Middle class

Upper middle class