STEPS IN CONDUCTING RESEARCH

The following are the steps involved in conducting research:

1. Selection of the problem – Some researchers are able to choose and concentrate on a research area that is interesting to them. Others come to be identified with studies of specific types, such as those concerning children and media, violence, newspaper readership, advertising or communications law. Researchers investigate small pieces of a puzzle to obtain a broad picture of their research area. Some researchers can be identified with specific approaches to research such as focus groups or historical analysis. In the private sectors, researchers generally do not have the flexibility to select topics or questions to investigate. Instead, they conduct studies to answer questions raised by management or the area studied by the company – e.g. NGOs. Selecting a topic is a concern for many beginning researchers. Primary sources can be used.

1. Professional Journals / Academic Journals – The articles in these may provide ideas for research topics.

2. Magazines and Periodicals – These articles tend to eliminate the tedious technical jargon and are good sources for problems and hypotheses. These sources also provide interesting perspectives on complex problems in communication and many times raise interesting questions that media researchers can pursue.

3. Research summaries – Professional research organizations periodically publish summaries that provide a close look at major research areas in various fields. These summaries are useful for obtaining information about research subjects because they survey a wide variety of studies.

4. The Internet – brings the world to a researcher’s fingertips and must be considered whenever the goal is to find a topic to investigate. Search engines such as Google, Infoseek etc provide a huge number of possible research topics.

5. Everyday situations – Each day people are confronted with various types of communication via radio, television, newspapers, magazines, personal discussions, etc. These can be excellent sources of topics for researchers who take an active part in analyzing them. E.g. are billboard effective in communicating information about products? / how many commercials in a row can people watch on TV or hear on the radio before the commercials lose their effect? / Why are commercials louder than regular programming? / What is the appeal of ‘reality’ shows on TV?

6. Archive data – data archives (at University) are valuable sources of ideas for researchers. Historical data may be used to investigate questions different from those that the data were originally intended to address. For e.g. rating books provide information about audience size and composition for a particular period in time, but a researcher may use this data for historical tracking or prediction of audience in the future. This process is known as Secondary analysis. Secondary analysis provides an opportunity for researchers to evaluate otherwise unavailable data, saves time and resources.

2. Formulation of the problem – The researcher must single out the problem which he / she wants to study. The problem to be investigated must be defined clearly as this helps to differentiate relevant data from irrelevant data.

3. Survey of literature – The researcher should undertake extensive literature survey connected to the problem that has to be studied.

4. Development of a working hypotheses – Working hypotheses is a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test the logical empirical consequences of the study. This working hypothesis should be developed as it provides a focal point for research.

5. Preparing the research design – The research design has to be prepared, i.e. the researcher has to state the conceptual structure within which the research has to be conducted. This includes the time available for research, the cost factor, availability of information, etc.

6. Determining sample design – The researcher must decide the way of selecting a sample or what is known as the sample design. Sample design is a definite plan determined before any data is actually collected.

7. Collecting the data – it is very essential to collect data that are appropriate. There are different ways of collecting data. For e.g. through observation, interviews, questionnaires, etc.

8. Execution – The researcher should see that the project is executed in a systematic manner and in time

9. Analysis of data – The data that has been collected has to be analysed with the help of various statistical means.

10. Hypothesis testing – The researcher has to test the hypothesis which he / she had formulated earlier and see if the facts support the hypothesis or are contrary to it.

11. Generalizations and interpretations – If the hypothesis is tested and upheld several times, it may be possible to arrive at generalizations, that is to build a theory.

12. Preparation of report – Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report of what has been done by him / her.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

There are four types or categories

1. interpersonal
2. intrapersonal
3. Group communication
4. Mass communication

1. Interpersonal – Interpersonal communication is between two persons. It can be

i.                 Face to face

ii.               Machine assisted

Face to face – interpersonal communication means face to face communication, dialogue or conversation between two people without the intervention of machines. This conversation is direct, personal and intimate. In such communication the sender and the receiver are generally within one anothers physical presence and the communication is not only by word of mouth but also by facial expressions, gestures, etc. e.g. talking to your parents at home or talking to your friends, classmates or teacher in college, talking to a doctor or shopkeeper.

Machine assisted – in this communication two or more persons communicate with the help of a mechanical or an electronic device. E.g. talking on phone or cell phone, pager, internet, fax etc.

Merits and demerits of face to face to communication

-        This communication does not cost anything

-        Feed back is immediate

-        It is more persuasive and influential because it involves not only words and gestures but also expressions and human emotions. E.g. companies employees, door to door sales man for advertising their product.

-        It has minimum disturbance but to linguistic barriers face to face communication may not be effected.

Merits and demerits of machine assisted communication

-        In case of defect in machine there will be disturbance and noise

-        The machine has to be purchased

-        Feedback may not be immediate depending on availability of the receiver

-        Machine assisted communication depends on energy sources like electricity, light, sound, papers, etc.

-        If there is a scarcity there cannot be machine assisted, interpersonal communication

Role of interpersonal communication in mass communication

Interpersonal communication plays an important role in mass communication. It becomes the first source of information in significant events, local news as well as national news is easily carried by word of mouth

2. Intrapersonal – Talking to oneself

Sometimes we talk to ourselves when we are alone or when we dream.

Day dreams or night dreams – in intrapersonal communication a person either dreams, reflects, contemplates or meditates. It can also take place according to William E Francois, ‘ If it involves internal transmission by means of signs or symbols and such internalization may be more common than most of tus imagine’. Our conversation with the divine or god is said to be intrapersonal communication. Such experience can be enjoyed in a temple, mosques, church, in a solitary place or in natural surrounding.

3. Group communication – a group is few people interacting with one another in such a way that each person influences and is influenced by other persons. E.g. when there is a domestic problem, family members get together and solve it. There are various kinds of group communication.

i.                 face to face

ii.               Machine assisted group communication

        

           A healthy combination of both may be heard or watched audio visually on

           radio, television with serials like national geographic etc. In group communication, small or big groups come together for a specific objective they give ideas, discuss, discover solutions to problems. Committees, conferences where people interact with one another are examples of group communication.

    

          Merits and demerits of group communication

-        benefits from combined experiences which provide better understanding as well as information to a group

-        greater chances of misunderstanding if there is no moderator or chair person to guide the group

-        feed back is difficult to measure as it takes time to clarify meanings and responses.

4. Mass Communication – means communicating with thousands of people and sharing with them views, ideas, information, experiences and entertainment through a network of communication – radio, television, cinemas, internet, mobile phones, etc.

      Mass communication is defined as ‘ a process by which a complex organization with the aid of one or two machines producers and transmits public messages that are directed at large audiences’ – Joseph Dominic

         Need and significance of mass communication in modern society

-        Different outlooks and lifestyles of the people – the 20^th century has brought about a total transformation.

-        Government programs and policies can be communicated and the follow up action can be made known to the people trhough mass media

-        Complaints of the people can be addressed through mass media

-        Today mass communication is being studied as an independent discipline which has influence on sociology, economics, politics, literature, performing arts and electronic media which makes it both interesting as well as instructive

-        Corruptive and constructive influence on young minds – Mass communication can be a servant as well as a master and it depends on the individual who makes use of it.  E.g. Films on TV as well as other programs can be used to increase thinking and imagination but the adverse effect is seen on younger generations where crime rate has increased.

-        Educative values or social progressive quality of mass media – it plays a dynamic role in bringing about changes in society. The technical means may be used for constructive or destructive purposes for which media itself cannot be blamed.

   

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

The success of communication depends upon the free flow of messages from the sender to the receiver without any kind of barrier. Most often communication fails because of certain barriers which can be classified as

a. Psychological barriers

b. Cultural barriers

c. Linguistic barriers

d. Physical Barriers

e. Mechanical barriers

a. Psychological Barriers

Human mind plays a very important role in the success or failure of communication all messages find their meaning differ in different socio-cultural environment.

i.                 Absence of common experiences of both sender and receiver – The message originates in the idea which starts in the mind of the communicator and is produced in a message. The meaning of the message should be shared by the sender and the receiver. For this purpose the experiences of both the sender and the receiver are important.

ii.                Absence of common frame of mind – A receiver has his own point of view and accordingly judges or evaluates the statements of the communicator. Real communication is possible by altering the frame of mind, by listening to speaker from speaker’s point of view without any interruption.

iii.              Defensive Behavior on the part of the receiver – When an individual or a group feels that there is a threat to himself or his group he adopts defensive behavior. It is seen in the way a person reacts.

iv.              Impact of charisma – Emotions such as joy, sorrow, anger, etc. act as barriers to communication. It is impossible for anybody to receive messages or communicate in a state of terror, anger, excitement etc. Ones logic stops functioning and one cannot react

v.               Closed mind of the receiver – There are some educated persons who believe they know everything about everything. Thus they are not open to any new ideas.

vi.              Resistance to change – Generally a change is resisted if it affects an individual or a group.

b. Cultural Barriers

i.                 Heterogeneous population – In a country like India different languages, religious beliefs and practices create a complex situation and make the role of the communicator difficult.

ii.                Different Social perceptions – there are various cultural differences in society. This makes the task of the communicator difficult.

iii.              Poverty and illiteracy – Due to illiteracy a person may not read newspapers or magazines even if he can afford to buy.

Due to poverty an individual may not buy a radio or television and so he is deprived of audio visual communication. Electronic gadgets are expensive and not everyone can afford it.

c. Linguistic Barriers

       i.          Different interpretations of words in different countries – Words have different meanings to different persons in different context.

      ii.          Words with different spellings and meaning but sounding the same when pronounced.

    iii.          Use of unfamiliar words – Every branch of learning such as science, literature, journalism, law have their own terminology. Use of unfamiliar words can break down communication.

d. Physical Barriers

       i.          Competing Stimulus – Is when another conversation is going on within hearing distance, or loud music and traffic noise in the background disturbs communication. E.g. a plane passing overhead

      ii.          Environmental Stress – High temperature, humidity, poor ventilation etc. contribute to distortions in the sending and receiving of messages.

    iii.          Subjective Stress – Sleepiness, sleeplessness, ill health, effects of drugs and mood variations give rise to subjective stress which leads to difficulties in listening and interpretation

e. Mechanical Barriers

i.         Defect in instrument – Mechanical defects in the instrument prevent us from receiving communication properly. Defective telephones, radio and TV sets and printing machines that do not print clearly come in this category.

ii.                Language – It is important to speak properly when using an instrument or vehicle of communication. Long sentences, unnecessary use of negatives, fancy phrases, distract the attention of the listener and the message gets distorted.

iii.       Ignorance of the medium – if the receiver is not familiar with various media in communication the medium turns into a barrier. E.g. use of visual media like maps and charts are useless to those who do not know to read them.

SAMPLING

 Sampling is a technique of data collection. It is a process of drawing a sample from a ‘population’ or ‘universe’. A sample is a portion that is selected from the ‘universe’ or ‘population’. ‘Universe’ or ‘Population’ in this case refers to all the items in any field of inquiry.

In statistics, universe or population refers to all the individuals, events, things which a particular study wants to cover.

When a statistical investigation is carried out, it is known as a sample survey (enquiry). If the population is infinite, its complete study is impossible. Even if the population is finite, it is often possible to determine the characteristics of the population only on the basis of a sample. 

Objectives of sampling

a. Selecting a sample of adequate size.

b. Collecting the information

c. Making inferences (conclusions) about the population

Advantages of sampling

a. A sample survey is time saving and less expensive compared to a census survey.

b. A sample survey requires small administration organization because the field of survey is small, and also the staff needed is small as the amount of information to be collected and processed is small.

c. The results obtained from sampling method are accurate and reliable

d. Since the coverage is limited, detailed information can be obtained.

e. If the population is very large, sampling is generally the only method of study applicable.

Disadvantages of sampling

a. This method is not suitable where a high degree of accuracy is required

b. In the absence of expert investigators, the results obtained through this method cannot be relied upon.

c. This method is not suitable when there is lot of heterogeneity in the population

d. If due care is not taken in selection of sampling, the conclusions derived will be misleading.

Sampling method

There are two broad categories in sampling:

A. Probability Sampling

B. Non-Probability Sampling

a. PROBABILITY SAMPLING

This type of sampling is also known as ‘random sampling’ or ‘chance sampling’. Under this sampling design, every item of the universe has an equal chance of being selected or being included in the sample. Under probability sampling we have the following types of sampling:

1. Random Sampling

This is the best known form of probability or chance of being selected regardless of the similarities or differences among them, as long as they are members of the same universe.

All that is required to conduct a random sample is to select persons without showing any bias for any kind of personal characteristics.

Accuracy of random sample depends on the accuracy of the sample frame. If some people are listed more than once, they have a greater probability of being selected. If other persons are omitted from the list, they will not be selected at all. In either of theses cases, the sampling will not be random.

Random sampling is used to obtain a sample that is most likely to be a representative of the population. In statistics, random has a technical meaning. It does not mean haphazard or unplanned. When items are selected by chance and not by choice, it is termed as a random sample. In other words, selection depends on chance, and for this reason it is known as chance selection.

The following methods are used for obtaining a random sample:

i. Lottery Method

ii. Table of random numbers

iii. Arrangement of all numbers in the same order, and every 5^th, 10^th, 100^th, etc. unit is selected.

One important property of random sampling is that the larger size of the sample, the more likely it will be closer to population.

Merits of random sampling

1. Since the selection of units in the sample depends entirely on chance, there is no possibility of personal bias affecting the results.

2. Compared to judgment sampling, random sampling represents the universe in a better way.

3. The margin of excess can be calculated because sampling error follow the principle of chance.

Thus random sampling has the advantage of cancelling out biases.

Limitations of random sampling

1. It requires a complete cataloged universe from which a sample is drawn. However, it is difficult to get such a list

2. At times the field of survey is wide, and therefore, it is a restriction geographically for random sampling

3. The size of the sample required to ensure satisfactory and reliable results is usually larger for random sampling rather than under stratified sampling.

2. Stratified sampling

In this method, the population is divided into different groups or classes called strata and a sample is drawn from each stratum at random.

The purpose of stratification is to increase the efficiency of sampling by dividing a heterogeneous population in such a way that there is a great homogeneity within each strata and a marked difference between different strata.

A stratified sample is controlled so that it reflects exactly some known characteristic of the population. In stratified sampling everything is not left to chance. For eg in a public opinion poll the sample selected should reflect all different strata in the population – Hindus, Christians, Parsis, etc.

Stratified samples are rank ordered, such as professors are categorized into associate professors, full time professors, part time professors, assistant professors, etc. time and money are saved in stratified sampling.

Stratified sampling is not limited to only one variable; one can stratify two or more variables simultaneously. For e.g. one can also look into age group, gender, income group etc.

3. Systematic sampling

Systematic sampling is formed by selecting one unit at random and then selection additional units at evenly spaced intervals, until the sample has been formed. This method is popularly used in those cases where a complete list of population is available. The list may be prepared in alphabetical, geographical, numerical or some other order. The most practical way is to select every 15^th name on the list or every 10^th house on the side of the street, etc. an element of randomness is usually introduced into this kind of sampling by using random numbers to pick up the unit with which to start.

Systematic sampling design is simple and convenient to adopt. The time and labour involved is relatively less and the results obtained are often satisfactory. If the population is sufficiently larger, systematic sampling can often yield satisfactorily results.

The main limitation of this method is that it becomes less representative if we are dealing with a population having hidden properties. Another limitation is that if the population is ordered, at times the characteristic investigator is interested in, may not be included.

4. Multi stage sampling or cluster sampling

Cluster sampling is also known as area sampling. It is mainly concerned with a particular geographical area or a particular aspect of population. Under this method a random selection is made of primary, intermediate and final unit from a given population. This method is carried out at different stages. At the first stages, units are selected by some suitable sampling method, then a sample is selected fro the first stage unit by some other sampling technique. Like this, there are stages which are added. E.g. if we want to take students from Delhi University, we may select colleges at the first stage, then select departments at the second stage and choose students at the third and final stage.

Merits

1. This method is used when the area of inquiry is wide

2. It saves time and money

Demerits

1. This method is complicated

2. It is less accurate.

B NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING

Non probability sampling is that sampling procedure which does not afford any basis for estimating the probability that each item in the population has of being included in the sample. Here the selection of the sample is based on the choice of the investigator. In such sampling, personal element has a great chance of entering into the selection of the sample. The investigator may select a sample which shall yield favorable results to his point of view, and this can be a great disadvantage of this method. The advantage of non probability sampling is that it is less complicated, less expensive and can be done on spur of the moment basis. The various types of non probability sampling are as follows:

1. Convenience sampling or Accidental Sampling

In this type of sampling, the investigator chooses those people who are readily and easily accessible. For e.g. in a study on teenagers and their shopping preferences, the investigator could take a sample of teenagers staying in the vicinity. This method is not very accurate, but it is time and money saving.

Self Selection Sampling is used if you want people to participate on their own accord. 

2. Quota sampling

This is a type of judgment sampling, where the investigator uses his / her own judgment for selecting the sample. In this, quotas are set up according to some specified characteristic like occupation, education, age etc. Each interviewer is then asked to interview a certain number of persons. Here the selection of sample depends upon personal judgment for e.g. in a survey on people who listen to the radio, the interviewer may be told to interview 500 people living in a certain area, and out of every 100 person of the interview, 60 are supposed to be people who are service workers, 25 housewives, 15 youngsters etc.

The cost involved in quota sampling is relatively less, but there are many chances of personal biases which may depend on integrity, honesty and competence of the investigator.

3. Purposive or Judgment Sampling

In this method the investigator has complete freedom to choose the sample according to his wishes. The investigator chooses those units which he thinks are more representative of the universe. For e.g., if a sample of 20 students is to be selected from a class of 80 then the investigator will select those 20 students who in his opinion are most representative of that class.

Judgment sampling is used only when a small sample is to be selected, or when we want to study some unknown traits of the population or need to solve some sort of everyday problem or to make policy decisions. Judgment sampling can be used to arrive at solutions and \make decisions. Judgment sampling can be used to arrive at solutions and make decisions.

A disadvantage of this method is that even though it is simple, it is not scientific. Personal biases and prejudices of the investigator may come in the way of the study.

The success of this method depends upon how excellent is the judgment of the investigator. A good judgment will result in good representation of the population.

4. Snowball sampling

In recent years snowball sampling has become very important. This method of sampling is conducted in stages. In the 1^st stage a few persons having the required characteristics are identified and interviewed. These persons are then used as informants to identify other such people who qualify to be included in the sample.

 At the 2^nd stage, these persons who were suggested by the 1^st group are interviewed and who will in turn lead to the next some more people who will be interviewed for the 3^rd stage and so on.

For e.g. In a study on married women who work from home, in the first stage some such women will be selected, and later they will suggest other such married women who work from home to be interviewed for the next stage. This continues till the desired sample size gets collected by the researcher.

The term ‘snowball’ comes from the analogy of a snowball which begins small, but becomes bigger and bigger as it rolls downward.

RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET

The following research methods can also be carried out on the internet:

Survey: The Internet and e-mail make it faster and cheaper to conduct surveys. It costs significantly less to send e-mail surveys than to make phone calls or send postal mail surveys. Also, e-mail has a higher response rate than other survey methods. People are more likely to respond to online or e-mail surveys because they can finish them at their own time, unlike phone surveys, and e-mails are relatively painless to fill out and send back, unlike snail mail.

However, authenticity is a problem in online surveys. Because the researcher is not interacting face-to-face with the respondent, it is possible that details can be fabricated, or that the respondent fill out the survey form many times under different names.

Content Analysis: There is a lot of communication on the internet, which can be analyzed. Matter available on websites and discussion groups can be easily searched through search engines. The frequency of words can be easily counted with the help of applications such as MS Word.  The internet offers a wealth of matter, which can be analyzed in a quick and effective matter.

Online Ethnography: This refers to ethnography that is conducted in cyber-space.  Online cultures and communities which include chat rooms, message boards, present an opportunity for the researcher to blend into psyche of the common people, and understand their preferences. The advantages of online ethnography over actual ethnography is that interaction is often in textual form which can be automatically saved and archived.

RESEARCH IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

Research in Public Relations primarily involves four activities:

(i)                Media Monitoring

As the name suggests, this involves monitoring the media coverage given to your client. This involves maintaining media dockets, which are books containing cut-outs of articles in newspaper articles and magazines pertaining to your client. These cut-outs are analyzed and the researcher tries to find out the percentage of articles which are written about the client positively, and percentage which are written neutrally, and the percentage which are written negatively. 

Research can track whether the percentage of positive articles has been increasing with time or not. Similarly, news on television, radio and the internet can also be analyzed, to understand the image of the client that is being projected by the media.

(ii)             Communication Audit

A communication audit is a snapshot of a company/organization’s communication culture. While the company’s relations with the external public such as customers and shareholders are important, their relation with its internal public, which includes its employees, is equally important. The communication audit tries to evaluate the communication between the management (owners) and the employees of a company.

                                                                        

Things that a Communication Audit tries to understand:

Ø Whether the employees are being listened to

Ø Whether the management communicates its messages effectively

Ø Do the employees understand the organization’s strategic goals

Ø Which communication styles and vehicles are most effective in conveying messages

Methods of Communication Audit

A communication audit can be carried out through the following methods:

Ø Interviewing the company’s top executives

Ø Self-observation : Asking employees and the management to systematically observe the company’s and their own communication patterns

Ø Conducting a survey among the company’s employees

Ø Using focus groups of employees to discuss the company’s communication culture

                   (iii)Social Audit

A social audit tries to understand the state of an organization’s ‘intangible’ assets (assets not pertaining to money or profits and which cannot be counted).  These include customer loyalty, social image and goodwill among citizens. It tries to understand whether a company is actually living up to its social goals. If the organization is fulfilling its social goals, it will enjoy a good deal of goodwill in society.

Methods to conduct a social audit

-         Survey – Conduct a survey among the people in the community to ascertain the image of the organization.

- Book-keeping – is a common activity in social audit, where observations pertaining to the company’s image are constantly recorded in a book, and an annual report is prepared based on the contents prepared.

-         Case Study – One case of Corporate Social Responsibility (it may be a fund raiser, the building of a school, a program to promote awareness etc.) is studied in detail. The challenges, benefits and drawbacks of the program are studied.

-         Ethnography – In place of formal surveys, an informal method, where in a researcher blends into a community and uses various informal techniques such as conversations to understand an organization’s image is also acceptable.

                  (iv)Public Relations Audit

Public Relations Audit tries to understand whether the strategies adopted by a particular PR agency are effective or not.  Among other things, it tries to understand whether the target audience that the PR agency currently targets needs to be expanded or decreased. It also tries to understand whether the media and messages employed by the PR agency are optimum and need to be replaced.

RESEARCH IN PRINT

In the print media, Readership Surveys are one the most commonly used forms of research. A readership survey tries to understand

(i)                How many people in all are reading a particular publication

(ii)             What kinds of people are reading that particular publication

(iii)           How often do these people read the publication

The two major readership surveys in India are the NRS (National Readership Survey) and IRS (Indian Readership Survey).

Procedure for conducting a readership survey

The first step in conducting a readership survey, is to conduct a representative sample of the larger population. Usually, addresses of all people living in a particular city or area are acquired from the postal department, and few houses are randomly chosen from them.

The people living in these houses are contacted, and asked if they would like to participate in the survey. The ‘response rate’ describes the number of contacted people who agree to participate in these surveys.

A readership survey has traditionally been conducted through a booklet, containing the names and logos of all published newspapers and magazines circulating in the area.

 But of-late the computer is used. Respondents are asked to glance through a variety of mastheads and logos of publications on the computer screen, and asked to choose the ones they have read at least once in the past 12 months.

After this, the survey attempts to understand whether the respondent is an ‘Average Issue Reader’. The respondent is an ‘Average Issue Reader’ only if he has read a copy of the publication in last publication interval. i.e. Past one day for a newspaper,  past one week for a weekly, past one month for a monthly publication, and so on.  

Questions pertaining to the publication which are asked are :

Ø Reading frequency : Which tries to understand how often the reader usually reads the publication (answers can vary from ‘Quite often’ which means he reads at least every second issue to ‘occasionally’ which means he reads only one of every five or six issues)

Ø Time spent in reading each issue of the publication

Ø Source of the copy: Which tries to understand how they got the copy:  through delivery, bought at a newsstand, or borrowed from someone else.

Ø Who reads the publication: It tries who exactly in the house reads the publication: the respondents themselves, or somebody else in the same house, or both.

Ø Topic of Interest: Respondents are asked which topics do they read the magazine for, or which sections in the magazine they read the most. This is helpful both to magazines, who would find out what interests the readers, and advertisers, who would want to know which section of a particular magazine they should publish in.

Personal Details

In order to understand the composition of the readership, a readership survey also asks several personal details about the respondent such as:

Ø Gender

Ø Age

Ø Annual salary (on the basis of this, the SECs of the readers are calculated. SEC stands for Socio-Economic Class. SEC A stands for Upper and Upper Middle Class. SEC B stands for Middle Class. SEC C – Stands for Lower middle Class and SEC D – Stands for those below the poverty line)

Ø Region/Locality

Ø Marital Status

Ø Family details (Including details about children if any)

Ø Educational Qualifications

Ø Shopping Preferences

Ø Travelling done up to now

RESEARCH IN ADVERTISING

Research plays a prominent role in testing the effectiveness and response of advertising.

Copy testing (Pre-testing)

Copy testing (also known as pretesting) is the study of advertisements before they are aired on TV, or published in print. This activity tries to understand the effectiveness of a particular ad, and tries to predict how well an ad will perform based on the feedback gathered about various aspects of the advertisement. 

Different aspects of the ad that are tested in this phase include:

1.  Recall

The researcher tries to test whether the participants can recall (remember) that particular ad or not.  Day-After-Recall (DAR) is a commonly used system. In this system, an ad is shown among several other ads on one particular day. Of all the ads they see, the participants do not know which ad is the ad whose recall is being tested. The next day, the ad in question is revealed, and participants are asked whether they remember the ad at all or not.

2. Attention Grabbing Power

This tries to understand the power of the ad to arrest the attention of the viewers. If the ad makes the viewer sit up and notice, it means it has high attention grabbing power.

3. Liking

A viewer might recall the ad, but may not like it. In fact, he might recall the ad because he disliked it. This aspect tries to measure whether the viewer actually liked the ad or not, and if so, to what extent.

4. Persuasion

An ad may grab the attention of the viewer, and they may be able to recall the ad, but it may still not convince them to actually buy the product. In this stage, the viewers are asked whether they feel convinced about the need to buy the product advertised or not.

 5. Brand Linkage

This tries to test whether the viewers can associate the slogan of the ad with the brand or the product. An effective ad helps viewers associate the slogan with the particular brand advertised, not the product in general. If the viewers link the slogans to the product, it might lead to an increase in the sales of the rival brand, and not that of the brand advertised.

     6.  Flow of Attention

Known as a moment-by-moment approach, this approach tries to understand the attention levels of the viewer at different points of time in a single ad. ‘Picture Sorts’ is a common method used to measure flow of attention. In this, after the respondent watches a commercial, he is shown sets of pictures. In each set of pictures, only one belongs to the advertisement (it is usually a freeze frame of the advertisement).

He is asked to choose the correct picture. If most respondents choose the correct picture, it means that their attention was high at that point of time. If only few viewers choose the correct picture, it means that their attention was low at that point of time in the ad.

When the levels of attention are plotted over time in a graph, it is known as flow of attention.  This technique is useful to cut down the length of an advertisement. Once we figure out the portions of an advertisement in which the attention of viewers is maximum, the advertisement is trimmed to include only those portions.

 7. Flow of Emotion

This is also a moment-by-moment approach in advertising research. It tries to measure the amount of positive and negative emotions the respondent experiences as he watches the advertisement. Usually, the respondents use a 5-point scale ranging from very strong positive feelings (5) to very strong negative feelings (1). After these the emotion levels across are plotted in a graph, and the resulting image is known as flow of emotion. Flow of emotion too can be used to select the most effective bits of an advertisement, and trim it. It can also be used to get an idea of the overall image that the respondents have of the ad. If there is more positive emotion in the ad, then it means that the ad has been well executed.

Post-testing

This research tries to understand the effectiveness of the ad after it has been aired or published. It includes examining:

Sales: If the sales of the product have increased after the ad has aired, it would mean the ad was effective.

Brand Awareness: Whether people have become aware of the brand after the ad has been aired or published.