primary research

Primary research is used by researchers to collate data directly, rather than depending on data collected from previously done research. Technically, they “own” the data. Primary research is solely carried out to fix a certain problem, which requires a lot of analysis.

there are many advantages to using primary research. for example, the research is up to date and relevant to your target audience around the time your research was completed. this improves accuracy because for example 16 year olds could give different answers than 16 year olds nowadays.

there are also disadvantages to primary research such as it can cost a lot more money than for example secondary research costs. this is due to the fact that it is time consuming and you source your focus group yourself.

an example of primary research would be location recces, i have personally used this kind of research as a way to piece together the filming locations and to scout out the environment

secondary research

Secondary research is the data collected by someone else other than the actual researcher.  This  can be gathered from  records, books, statistics agencies, etc. Research done using this is widely available.

there are many advantages to secondary research. for example,  time and cost that is needed to collect secondary data is less than what you need to collect primary data. Data is available freely or at far lesser cost through secondary sources.

there are also disadvantages to secondary research. such as, the data could be really inaccurate due to the fact that you are relying on someone else to find information for you, there is a possibility the information could be false.

there are many examples of using secondary research such as reading a book that someone else has written. If you actively seek out the information without conducting the research personally then you are using secondary research.

thematic analysis/research

Thematic analysis is one of the most common forms of analysis. It emphasizes  recording patterns within data. Themes are patterns across data which could be important.

thematic analysis provides a highly flexible approach that can be modified for the needs of many studies, this is a big advantage as it could help multiple people and can be utilized to work for other things.

a survey on video games bought by users aged 15-20 would be an example of thematic research.

Short film screening

i have conducted my own primary research by screening one of my previous short films to an audience of 16-20 year olds. I did this in order to gain a more personalized outcome. i screened my “Stalker” short film and received feedback from the audience, i then took that feedback into account to improve on my future work.

Contextual research

contextual research is useful, however it has many downfalls such as, the research has a chance to be inaccurate. photos, sketches and films and other media forms are a type of contextual research, for contextual research, you actively have to gather information from the research subject.

Analysis

The type of research you decide to use heavily relies on many different circumstances such as your budget, timeframe and idea. for some projects primary research isn’t necessarily needed due to the amount of research already published and available. However, if you want your research to be reliable and perfect for use with your project then you should commit to primary research. although primary research is more time consuming and costly, it is worth doing if you have the time to sacrifice for the reliability of your research. Secondary research is worth using in a situation that you dont have the time to commit to researching and when you dont have the funds, choosing the right type of research is all about the situation but primary research is strongly advised where possible.