Audience Research for Music Magazines

Primary Research

Primary research is a collection of information that you have gathered yourself be it through questionnaires, surveys, focus groups or interviews. You will know that all of the information you have gathered is correct.

Secondary Research

This is the opposite to primary research, it is information found in magazines or on the internet which would have been gathered by someone else in the past. Secondary research helps you find information that you may not have been able to find with your own primary research.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Quantitative research generates numerical data or information that can be converted into numbers like 'yes or no' questions (closed questions), this type of research is conclusive as it is narrow and focused. Qualitative research is non numerical data that asks open questions, this type of research is more exploratory and creates a broad hypothesis where you can see the bigger picture.

Qualitative research would be focus groups, non-structured interviews or in-depth interviews, whereas, quantitative research could be questionnaires or surveys.

Focus Groups

This is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their opinions, beliefs and perceptions on a product or idea.

Surveys

Surveys are questionnaires sent to people, usually in the form of quantitative research that uses closed questions ('yes or no' questions) to create a conclusive set of data.

All of these areas of research are very important, when they are used they will give someone information they need in order to know who they are making their product for or who their target audience is. This ensures that their product will reach out and grab the attention of the target audience they wish to look at their product.