Intro: Media Violence Audience Research
You are asked to conduct audience research into media violence
Hypothesis Violent media creates a violent society.
A combination of violent TV, Films and Games creates people who find
violence more acceptable. You can see this in how the media has become
more violent over the past 30 years. Video Games, Video and the Internet
have brought it all into the home and created a more violent society.
You will investigate this using a combination of 1st and 2nd hand research, and
present a report that either supports or disagrees with this hypothesis.
We are looking at audience research. There are two major studies that define
the field other than as market research.
See Nationwide Study by Morley and Wiring the Audience by McDougal
http://journals.sfu.ca/eludamos/index.php/eludamos/article/viewArticle/
70/135
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MAinTV/morleynw.html
Plus, a research study using GTAIV.
http://www.participations.org/Volume%207/Issue%201/mcdougall.htm
And in the Library, there are books discussing this exact topic.
Steven J KIRSH (2006) Children, adolescents, and media violence : a
critical look at the research 302.23083
Karen BOYLE (2005) Media and violence : gendering the
debates 302.23
Martin BARKER (2001) Ill effects: the media violence debate 2nd ed.
302.23
This workbook is designed to take you through this project 1 step at a time.
Part 1: Audience Research
Develop and distribute a Survey to find out the kind and duration of media
people consume. For example, devise a series of questions for each of these
four parts:1. Who are they? Collect demographic info – Names, Geo-demographics,
Age, Gender, Hobbies, Socio-economic scale. etc
2. What do they Consume?
3. How much do they consume?
4. What do they think is violent media? Do they feel they are effected?
Add anything you feel is relevant, justifying your choices on your Blog. We will
be using this survey to identify a potential media product to use, as well as
volunteers to talk to – so ask the questions accordingly, carefully and make
sure they can be understood!
At the end of this part, you will be able to present 2 audience profiles:
 What media a specific demographic group are using (eg College
Students)
 The audience for a specific product (eg Who watches Eastenders).
All of this information, and an explanation of what you did and how you did it
will be the start of you report. This report can be online as a blog, or as a word
document. It is up to you to keep it up to date.
Guidance
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Develop a survey
Write about how and why you constructed the survey the way you did
Distribute it in a relevant way (eg If you wan to focus on games, get a
link onto a games forum etc)
Collect & Collate results
Compile them and present them graphically, adding them into your
Blog or report
Interpret them, entering this onto your blog or report
Select a product you are going to use in the rest of the research
Present profiles.
Part 1: Audience Research
What you are marked on:
1 Understand how media producers define audiences for their products
Defining audiences: quantitative audience research, eg BARB, RAJAR, ABC; qualitative audience
research, eg focus groups, questionnaires, face-to-face interviews; audience profiling, eg socioeconomic status, psychographics, geodemographics, age, gender, sexual orientation, regional identity,
mainstream, alternative, niche
Criteria
P1 describe how media
producers define audiences
with some appropriate use of
subject terminology [IE]
M1 explain how media
producers define audiences
with reference to detailed
illustrative examples and with
generally correct use of
subject terminology
D1 comprehensively explain
how media producers define
audiences with elucidated
examples and consistently
using subject terminology
correctly
Suggested tasks.
 Look at the examples at the start of the
workbook.
 How do they classify people? What
different classifications do they use?
 How can you classify people?
 Put these answers into your Blog.
 Start you survey with demographic
information gathering.
 Collect information
 Present 2 profiles
 How are people’s opinions collected in
the research examples?
 Put this answer on your blog.
 Devise your survey to find out how much
media is consumed
 Add questions about what they think the
effect of violence in media is.
 Explain your survey questions on the
blog
 Collect information
 Present it clearly
 Present 2 profiles with accurate
information
 Justify your conclusions
 Comment on the example research from
the front of this workbook in your blog.
 Construct a Survey that identifies all the
relevant information you will need, and
justify it on your blog.
 Collect a range of results
 Present the information clearly and
accurately
 Present 2 profiles accurately and clearly
 Justify your conclusions
Part 2: Analyze the Product
You have presented the results of your Survey. You have identified the
groups who consume violent media: So, pick a game / film / TV show (eg
Modern Warfare for the shooty bits, A horror film for the graphic violence, an
episode of Eastenders with a big argument and fight in).
So, now you will have a product to explore and an audience profile of who
uses it. We are ready for the next stage.
Create a content analysis of the product.
You should examine the product for technical construction Audio – what do your hear?
 Visual – what do you see?
 Symbolic – what does it represent?
 Technical – eg Lighting, framing etc
 linguistic - what is said and how it is said – eg Dialogue, text etc
Also, find existing responses to the product – what do other people say about
it?
 Online Reviews
 Critic reviews
 Fan sites
 Complaints
Also, add information about similar products in the market.
You should now be able to create a profile of the product itself, describing
what happens and how it happens. This will guide us through the focus group
when we sit down to get their responses.
Add all those information into your report, either online as a blog or into your
word document.
Guidance:
You need to Analyze the content of the product – for example,
 what is it?
 What happens within it?
 What appears to be expected of the audience?
 How is this communicated to the audience?
 Has it been influenced by other media products?
 What Codes and Conventions are used within it?
 What similar products exist?
 How does it differ to similar products?
 How does it fit into the market?
Part 2: Analyze the Product
What you are marked on
2 Understand how media producers create products for specific audiences
Addressing audiences: selection of content, eg words, images, sound, sequences, colours, fonts;
construction of content, eg narratives, layout, captions, anchorage; codes and conventions, eg linguistic,
visual, audio, symbolic, technical; modes of address
Audience feedback: eg focus groups, audience panels, trialing and testing, reviews, complaints
Criteria
P2 describe how media
producers create products
for specific audiences with
some appropriate use of
subject terminology [IE]
M2 explain how media
producers create products
for specific audiences with
reference to detailed
illustrative examples and
with generally correct use
of subject terminology
D2 comprehensively
explain how media
producers create products
for audiences with
elucidated examples and
consistently using subject
terminology correctly
Suggested tasks.
 Analyze the contents of the product
 Describe how it address the audience
 What happens in it?
 How do the audience interact with it?
 Why has it been constructed this way?
 What products are similar?
 Add this to your blog.
 Draw conclusions as to the potential
audience of the product.
 Justify why they consume it.
 Explain how content has been selected &
constructed.
 Explain the Codes and Conventions used
with reference to similar products
 Add this to your blog
 Perform a textual analysis of the product
 Discuss all the technical and aesthetic
elements of the product.
 Discuss how these have may appeal to an
audience with reference to similar products.
 Add this to you blog
Part 3: Audience Response
You now need to gather a focus group. You should have identified these people
from your original survey and the profile you made of them.
You will need to define and explain basic audience effects theories, making sure
you have opposing viewpoints. Since we are exploring Violence in the media, you
will need to explain the following effects theories in terms of how violent media
could be effecting violence in society:
 hypodermic needle model;
 uses and gratifications theory;
 reception study;
 Passive or active consumption:
 Copycat Theory
You will also need to define the following response terms and find examples.
 negotiated – The meaning depends on how the audience chooses to read it
 preferred – the meaning intended by the producers
 oppositional – the meaning opposite to that intended
 participatory – Involving the audience in production and meaning eg online
response form Twitter, Blogs etc
 cultural competence – different interpretations depending on Cultural
background, eg: The wire – who are the good guys?
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fan culture – fans creating their own responses
You will get volunteers and expose them to the same product – eg they will all
play the same game (form the start) for a period of time and then talk about how
they felt, what they did and how they experienced the product.
Through a series of Interviews (spoken or written logs) find out how the groups
respond to the product.
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What did they do?
How did they identify with the characters?
Why did they enjoy it?
How did they feel during / after the product?
How did they understand their experience?
How do their responses ot the product tie in with the theories you have
explored above?
Guidance:
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Define Effects Theories in your report / blog
Define response terms in your report / blog
Select a group
Give them the same experience of the product
Gather their reactions to the product
Link these up with the theories you have explored.
Part 3: Audience Response
What you are marked on:
3 Understand how media audiences respond to media products
Audience theory: hypodermic needle model; uses and gratifications theory; reception study; passive or
active consumption
Effects debates: eg effects of exposure to explicit sexual or violent content, effects of advertising, health
concerns; censorship debates
Responses: negotiated; preferred; oppositional; participatory; cultural competence; fan culture
P3 describe how media
audiences respond to media
products with some appropriate
use of subject terminology [IE]
M3 explain how media
audiences respond to media
products with reference to
detailed illustrative examples
and with generally correct use
of subject terminology
D3 comprehensively explain
how media audiences respond
to media products with
elucidated examples and
consistently using subject
terminology correctly
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Describe Effects Theories
Describe Response terms
Select an audience
Have them experience the product
Gather their responses
Add conclusions to your blog
Explain Effects Theories
Explain Response terms
Gather audience responses effectively
Link responses with effects theories
Add the conclusions to your blog
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Explain Effects Theories with examples
Explain Response terms with example
Gather a wide range of audience
responses
Explore a wide range of effects theories
Draw conclusion about the links
between these responses and effects
theories
Add conclusions to you blog
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Part 4: Present Results
Now it is time to interpret you results to present a response to the chosen product.
You can now take a clear look at the report as a whole, and see if you can draw
and conclusions to the original question.
You have: Audience Profile
 a content analysis
 Definition of Effects Theories
 Audience Response
So, write a conclusion that draws all these elements together – for example,
people reading Harry potter often write their own stories, showing active
participation in these forms of media.
So, you will have your own personal response to the product, as well as an
audience response, which you can now explore using effects theories and
content analysis.
Remember, we are focusing on Violent Media effecting society – so, if we have
people watching violent films and then re-enacting them (admitting this in focus
group), this would show hypodermic needle theory, an active participation and
some elements of copycat theory. This would lead us to conclude that there is a
link. But we need to refer to the evidence!
Apply what you have found, in general, to other products. Does what you have
found out answer the original Question?
Make sure all your information has been presented, explained, and then write
your response and a conclusion to explain everything you have discovered.
Part 4: Present Results
What you will be marked on
4 Be able to develop responses to media products
Critical approaches: eg content analysis, semiotic analysis, structuralism,
Genre: according to production technology, eg film, video, audio, print, digital; distribution method, eg
television, cinema, radio, internet, CD, iPod, mobile phone, home computer, hand-held consoles;
generic codes and conventions (content, style, symbolic, cultural, technical); changes over time, eg in
audience, ideological shifts, re-definition, obsolescence, spoof, pastiche, parody
Narrative structures: narrative, eg single strand, multi-strand, closed, open, linear, non-linear; alternative
narrative; enigma; climax; equilibrium
Representation: negative; positive; of social groups; of social issues; stereotyping; presence and
absence
Criteria
P4 present a descriptive response to
a media product with some
appropriate use of subject
terminology. [IE]
M4 present a discussion of a media
product with reference to detailed
illustrative examples and with
generally correct use of subject
terminology.
D4 present an analysis of a media
product with supporting arguments
and elucidated examples, and
consistently using subject terminology
correctly.
Suggested Tasks
 Apply your content analysis, the
effects theories and the audience
response to create a final
response to the product.
 Draw conclusions as to the effects
of this particular product
 Write a conclusion to you report
that describes the purpose and
effect of the product.
 Draw conclusions about the
effects of this product based on
your content analysis, the
audience theories and the
audience response.
 Discuss your response to the
media product
 Draw conclusions as to whether
this shows a wider set of issues
with violent media
 Write a conclusion to you report
that explains your ideas using
examples.
 Compare responses to this media
product to responses to other
media products.
 Analyze the media product with
reference to your analysis of the
content, the effect theories and
the audience response.
 Write a conclusion that explores
the content and effect of violent
media products using examples.