LESSON 4
Audience Research
Audience Research
Traditionally audience research is about 1) gaining an insight
on audience preferences, however fluid and ever-changing
these could be in the present period; and 2) calibrating
audiences sizes and reach.
Research can also be conducted so technological advances
that the media industry will undertake can be based on
sound empirical data.
Historically, it is the radio and television that have relied
much on audience research because they are mass media
platforms that cannot accurately count their audiences.
Beyond television and radio, even print and the Internet has
ventured into audience research.
Audience research is also allied to market research and
social research.
Qualities of Research
• Systematic: The whole research undertaking should be
structured with steps that should be followed according to
the design.
• Logical: Research should be guided by the rules of logical
reasoning and the logical process of induction and
deduction.
• Empirical: Research is underpinned by data that is
systematically gathered and forms the basis of all
analyses and conclusions that will be arrived at.
• Replicable: Research findings are verifiable by replicating
the study and achieving the same results.
Methods of Audience Research
• Surveys
are conducted mostly through questionnaires,
administered to a select group of people where they are
asked the same questions, and their answers
consolidated and tabulated
• Observation
can be both formal and informal
• Focused Group Discussions (FGD)
are conducted with a small group of six to ten people
led through the structured discussion by a skilled
facilitator
The goal? To generate a maximum number of different
ideas and opinions regarding a particular topic centered
around a media or information text
Some Useful Discussions on Ideal
Situations and Issues on
Responsible Digital Citizenship
On Digital Security
This area covers the entire gamut of safety precautions that
information technologies invoke—from virus protection, to
data protection. As technologies grow and evolve into
something more complex, the need for security systems
become even more compelling.
