Research Methods

For my coursework I will have to research certain topics in order to make the magazine as appealing to the target audience as possible.

The four main research methods that are used are:

• Primary - research that you do for yourself
• Questionnaires
• Surveys
• Focus group
• Interview
• Textual analysis

• Secondary - research that is done by someone else, and is then collated by the researcher to use for their own purposes
• Books
• The Internet
• Industry websites
• Blogs / Forums
• Newspapers / Magazines

• Quantitative - numerical data which is used to observe patterns
• Closed ended questions are usually used for this type of research as it provides the researcher with a set of standardised answers that they can easily compare.

• Qualitative - research in a worded format. This relates to opinions, feelings and other important details in peoples responses.
• This method usually uses open ended questions so that the person answering the question can provide rich and detailed answers. The researcher can then take the information they need from their response.