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Session slides drawn from the workshop and the lecture looking at the turn towards 'ethnographic' audience research within Media & Cultural Studies
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WHY STUDY AUDIENCES?Some approachesMAC201
Robert Jewitt
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AUDIENCE CONSUMPTION
Perhaps ‘the’ most important part of the process for media producers
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AUDIENCE CONSUMPTION
Perhaps ‘the’ most important part of the process for media producers Tailor products to audience preferences Identify suitable advertising space Technological improvements and usability Impression management Explore social trends for future policy
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AUDIENCE CONSUMPTION
Perhaps ‘the’ most important part of the process for media producers Tailor products to audience preferences Identify suitable advertising space Technological improvements and usability Impression management Explore social trends for future policy
Lots of myths exist regarding audience relationships with the media
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AUDIENCE RESEARCH2 APPROACHES
Quantitative data Based on volume i.e., amount of people participated.
Qualitative data Based on level of detail i.e., amount of data from individuals
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AUDIENCE RESEARCH2 APPROACHES
Quantitative data Based on volume i.e., amount of people participated
Qualitative data Based on level of detail i.e., amount of data from individuals
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AUDIENCE RESEARCH2 APPROACHES
Quantitative data Based on volume i.e., amount of people participated
Qualitative data Based on level of detail i.e., amount of data from individuals
Ethnography – starts with people first rather than a hypothesis
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ETHNOGRAPHIC AUDIENCE RESEARCH
A way of conducting research into what is occurring in the wider social worldObservationListeningQuestioning
Describes intimate human-social phenomena
Draws from cultural anthropology
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AUDIENCE TEST SCREENING
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Invented in 1919 by Harry Lloyd in order to change a film before the final release to better suit a mass audience
Questionnaire based
AUDIENCE TEST SCREENING
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Invented in 1919 by Harry Lloyd in order to change a film before the final release to better suit a mass audience
Questionnaire based
AUDIENCE TEST SCREENING
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Invented in 1919 by Harry Lloyd in order to change a film before the final release to better suit a mass audience
Questionnaire based
Darker ending removed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch2vPwOlEX4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx49d_GwskU
ETHNOGRAPHY AS ‘HANGING OUT?’
Machin (2002: p1): The role of the ethnographer is to be
‘finely tuned to the patterns and processes that make up the social world’
Key figures in anthropology: Bronisław Malinowski (1884-1942) Clifford Geertz (1926-2006) Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-?) 13
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pPY7EaSN9pA
AUDIENCE RESEARCH: ETHNOGRAPHY
‘At the heart of ethnography is the act of observing and listening to people as they go about their everyday lives in order that we can understand the way they behave or think on their own terms’ (Machin, 2002: 1)
Apply ethos of the paradigm to media use
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AUDIENCE RESEARCH: ETHNOGRAPHY
‘This can be contrasted with the process of either theorising about the reasons for a particular behaviour or composing a questionnaire, and therefore asking the subjects of our research to respond to a set of assumptions that we have already made about why they behave in a particular way’ (Machin, 2002: 1)
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HSBC ‘LOCAL BANK’ ADS
Important to know the local context of the brand, or how it is being understood
Launch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_NinOmFW
w
Pets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bVCj9Ayxc8
Eels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_WAmt3cMd
k
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EVERYDAY LIFE IS ARBITRARY
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Islamic prayer
Amsterdam
La Tomatina
Bigg Market
EXPLAIN BEHAVIOUR
Everyday life appears natural Governed by socially constructed rules Majority of people abide by them Different (sub) cultures may function
differently
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DIFFERENT TYPE OF RESEARCH
Questionnaire survey Excellent for gathering socio-economic data Limited scope; ‘closed’ questions
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FRAMING THE QUESTIONS
Responses to questions are often contextual How questions are framed can determine
answer How responses are measured can also shape
results
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PROBLEMATIC FRAMING
A set of assumptions that we’ve already made?
Typical questions asked can skew the results: Eg:
“Do you support the attempt by the USA & UK to bring freedom and democracy to other places in the world?”
Or
“Do you support the unprovoked military action by the USA?”
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DIFFERENT TYPE OF RESEARCH
Open ended questions Interviewees expand on points Interviewees might not know reasons why they
behave
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DIFFERENT TYPE OF RESEARCH
Focus groups Group dynamic more ‘natural’ Unnatural environment; contrived discussions; little
control
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CRITICISMS OF ETHNOGRAPHY
Scientific or rigorous? Interpretive methodology (role of researcher) Natural sciences vs Social sciences Positivism via Descartes (see Ruddock, 2001) Variables identified > isolated > measured Standardized method of investigation
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25Correlation does not imply causation
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COMPARE ATTITUDES TOWARDS TV/RADIO PROGRAMME
Identify audience variables Income? Attitudes? Geography? Age?
Create questionnaire Collect responses Assess patterns
All this assumes the veneer of distance and scientific objectivity and neutrality. 27
- "Why are people going so crazy over this, it's funny as hell”- "It's boys being boys”- “How can you possibly NOT find this hilarious?”
GENERAL AUDIENCE RESEARCH ISSUES:VALIDITY
Why would people lie? Uncomfortable questions about personal life How people present themselves & reality Questionnaires = leap of faith
Emile Durkheim (1952) on low incidences of suicide in Catholic countries
Ethnography paints a broader picture
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GENERAL AUDIENCE RESEARCH ISSUES:REPRESENTATIVENESS
Depends on when it is undertaken: sampling Random sampling; Strategic random sampling Targeted sampling; Quota sampling
Size of group (is more better?) Large samples difficult to analyse (low
validity) Presumptions of researcher? Broad samples not suited to specific tasks
(eg., Star Trek fans)
Ethnography is representative of those taking part in study 29
GENERAL AUDIENCE RESEARCH ISSUES:RELIABILITY
Should the research be repeatable? Rigid methodology Methods suited to individualistic responses?
Ethnography is adaptive Ethnography as too interpretive?
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Describes the quality of phenomena
Is primarily inductive –builds theory
Uses text based data derived from observations, interviews and elicitation
Focus of study is localized Unit of analysis is usually
larger than the individual Usually uses universal or
selective sampling Emphasizes validity Uses
case-study/continuous assessment design in interventions
Measures the quantity of phenomena
Is primary deductive – tests theory
Uses numerical data based on quantification
Focus of study is local, national or international
Unit of analysis is usually the individual
Randomizes sampling procedures
Emphasizes reliability and generalizability
Uses experimental or quasi-experimental design in a controlled settings
Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
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Source: Jean J. Schensul, 2005: http://cira.med.yale.edu/events/mbseminars/mbs070705.pdf
CONCLUSION Heisenberg’s ‘Uncertainty principle’
‘What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning’
(1958, Physics and Philosophy)
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CONCLUSION
Numerous reasons for audience research No approach is 100% accurate despite claims
Quantitative (statistical) research is useful starting point
Qualitative (interpretive) research builds on this
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Ideally, triangulation is sought from multiple methods but not always obtainable.
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SOME VERY USEFUL BACKGROUND TEXTS
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Researching online
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USEFUL READING Ien Ang, 1991, Desperately Seeking the Audience. London:
Routledge. Werner Heisenberg, 1958, ‘Physics and Philosophy: The
Revolution in Modern Science’, Lectures delivered at University of St. Andrews, Scotland, Winter 1955-56, available http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/heisenb3.htm
Shaun Moores, 1993, Interpreting Audiences, London: Sage. (recommended reading: full text)
David Machin, 2002, Ethnographic Research for Media Studies, London: Arnold (one chapter on WebCT)
Virginia Nightingale & Karen Ross, 2004, Media and Audiences: New Perspectives. Buckingham: Open University Press (chapter 2).
Andy Ruddock, 2001, Understanding Audiences: Theory & Method, London: Sage
Sue Stoessl, 1998, “Audience feedback: administrative research of audiences”, in A. Briggs and P. Cobley (eds.) The Media: An Introduction. London: Longman.
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