LA3: Know about research methods.

research for creative media production. 

primary research.

primary research when you find the information out yourself or you get someone else to do it for you. It involves going directly to a source – usually customers and prospective customers in your target market – to ask questions and gather information. 

Examples of primary research are: Interviews (telephone or face-to-face) Surveys (online or mail), Questionnaires (online or mail ,Focus groups and Visits to competitors' locations. Primary research usually costs more and often takes longer to conduct than secondary research, but it gives conclusive results.

secondary research.

Secondary research is a type of research that has already been compiled, gathered, organized and published by others. It includes reports and studies by government agencies, trade associations or other businesses in your industry. For small businesses with limited budgets, most research is typically secondary, because it can be obtained faster and more affordably than primary research. 

A lot of secondary research is available right on the Web, simply by entering key words and phrases for the type of information you’re looking for. You can also obtain secondary research by reading articles in magazines, trade journals and industry publications, by visiting a reference library, and by contacting industry associations or trade organizations. when getting information off the internet you need to be careful because not all of it is true. 

qualitative research. 

Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research. Qualitative Research is also used to uncover trends in thought and opinions, and dive deeper into the problem. 

Qualitative data collection methods vary using unstructured or semi-structured techniques. Some common methods include focus groups (group discussions), individual interviews, and participation/observations. 

quantitive research.

Quantitative Research is used to quantify the problem by way of generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into usable statistics. It is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables – and generalize results from a larger sample population. Quantitative Research uses measurable data to formulate facts and uncover patterns in research. 

Quantitative data collection methods are much more structured than Qualitative data collection methods. Quantitative data collection methods include various forms of surveys – online surveys, paper surveys, mobile surveys and kiosk surveys, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, longitudinal studies, website interceptors, online polls, and systematic observations.