This document provides guidance for students on conducting target audience research and surveys for their media studies magazine project. It discusses: - The difference between quantitative and qualitative research methods and appropriate question types. Quantitative research uses structured questions and large sample sizes, while qualitative aims for an in-depth understanding using focused smaller samples. - Suggestions for how to find the target audience such as reviewing existing research, designing relevant questions, and using a mixture of open and closed questions. - Creative ways to actively search for audience information beyond just questionnaires, such as using social media, online surveys, focus groups and interviews. - The importance of analyzing survey results through visualizations, written analysis of how the research enhanced audience

1. Media Studies
Week Two:
Target Audiences and Surveys

2. Aims for this weeks Sessions
• By now you should have:
• Completed your mood board
• Deconstructed front cover, contents page and double spread of 3
different magazines
• Completed your initial planning into your own creative project
• You now need to:
• Uncover your target audience
• Who are they? What do they want from a magazine?
• You will:
• Design suitable questionnaire materials
• Review and evaluate the results of your questionnaire

3. Key Questions
• What is the difference between Quantitative Research and
Qualitative Research?
• What type of questions might you ask your target audience?
• Define closed and open questions

4. Designing Survey Approaches
• 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, it’s important to
survey people in fairly large numbers and to make sure they are a
representative sample of your target market.
• Qualitative Research
• Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding
of human behaviour and the reasons that govern such behaviour.
The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision
making, not just what, where, when. Hence, smaller but focused
samples are more often used than large samples.

5. How to go about finding your audience?
• Initially, is there any documented research available related to
similar inspirational products that may give you an initial idea of
target audience?
• You should think of a series of questions that you want to find the
answer to
• This should help you tailor your magazine to suit the needs of your
audience – you will also be able to justify the choices you have made
to the final piece
• A mixture of open and closed questions
• Find key statistical information, but also try and uncover the reasons
why people favour certain products
• http://www.slideshare.net/incredibleburns/as-media-studie-
magazine-audience-research

6. Creative thinking
• Although questionnaires should form an important part of
collecting quantitatively, try and be creative with how else you
may actively search out audience information
• Social media
• Online questionnaires e.g. Survey Monkey (not just paper
based)
• Focus groups
• Audio or video interviews
• Remember, we are looking for a creative and varied use of
media to be displayed

7. Analysing your data
• Once you have your data sample you need to begin to break it
down and analyse your results
• Pie charts/bar graphs (Excel) may help you visualise certain
data
• You will need to produce a written analysis of the results –
here you will need to talk more readily about how quantitative
research has enhanced your knowledge of your target
audience
• What is your reader profile?

8. What you should have complete:
• Completed questionnaires uploaded to blog
• Any additional evidence uploaded e.g. video interviews, links
to online surveys, screen grabs etc
• A detailed written analysis accompanying your evidence
clearly outlining:
• Your results
• The significance of your results
• How this has help you solidify your ideas/image for your project

9. Formulating your ideas
• Consider which current texts you find inspirational and why
• Think about: What current magazines have inspired you?
• What types of bands/cultures/fashions/age ranges are
inspiring you and why
• What have you taken from looking at some previous student
work – has this helped you improve your ideas?
• Complete an initial proposal form
• Design a presentation that guides us through your initial
thoughts/ideas on the brief – include evidence of
influences/thoughts on style