In this report, I will be describing the reasons of research and what each type of research contains. I will cover market and production research, primary and secondary research, as well as qualitative and quantitative research, making the information relative to the games industry.
Types of Research
Quantitative Research
When research is quantitative, it means it is numeric, for example, percentages, number of sales, and the amount of people who agreed with a certain statement. Quantitative data can be obtained from numerous sources, such as questionnaires and interviews, and can be turned into qualitative data (e.g. 89% of people enjoyed this product -> most of the people who were surveyed enjoyed this product). Quantitative data can include figures such as percentages, ratings and averages, for example, 42% of all gamers are women [data found on http://www.theesa.com - 03/10/11].
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is data that is not numeric, and is information such as opinions of a subject, responses to a video, and game reviews. Qualitative data is usually very detailed, using direct quotes or maybe notes that were taken from an interview. It can be binary data (e.g. yes and no), or categorical data (grouped information). An example of qualitative data would be that almost half of all games in 2009 were rated “E” for Everyone [data found on http://www.theatlantic.com - 06/10/11].
Methods and Sources of Research
Primary Research
In research, there are two different types of research; primary research and secondary research. Primary research is information that you have gathered yourself, for example, in a questionnaire. A questionnaire is a list of questions that includes information such as age, gender, employment and opinions of a certain thing. It can be a multiple choice question, which is easier and more organised, or it can be an open question in which the person answering may write in their own answer.
http://musicmattersblog.com [29th September, 2011]
Another type of primary research is a focus group. This is when a group of people gather and discuss a certain subject to find out the group’s opinions and feelings about this subject. They can also be used to see how people react to the idea of a new product concept or idea; this can help the concept creator to see whether their new product will be successful. A focus group usually consists of 6 to 8 people, though obviously this can vary, and there is usually a moderator, whose job is to motivate the group and ask the necessary questions.
http://www.vernonresearch.com [29th September, 2011]
My final example of primary research is an interview. It could be with anyone; a celebrity, a businessman, or just a person in the street. The point of an interview is to gather information and opinions from multiple different stereotypes of people. The interviewer could record the interview on a tape or write down the answers of the person being interviewed, and then could put all this information together in a summary afterwards.
www.mensweekly.co.uk [29th September, 2011]
Secondary Research
Secondary research is information that someone else has gathered, like in books and on the internet. If you go to the library, you are almost guaranteed to find a book about the subject you’re researching. If you are taking information from a book, you must source it, by putting the author’s or editor’s name, the year the book was published, the title of the book, the name of the company that published the book, and the city it was published in.
www.geex.com.br [29th September, 2011]
Finding information from the internet can be very easy. The internet has a very wide range of sources that you could find statistics and data from. However, it can be quite risky. Websites like Wikipedia are unreliable as the pages can be edited by anyone. Online articles that don’t say who the author is are usually untrustworthy, though this obviously doesn’t apply to every single one. Websites that end in .edu or .gov are usually correct information, as they are educational and governmental websites.
http://edenrecordsnw.files.wordpress.com [29th September, 2011]
Another example of secondary research is the news. Whether it is from a newspaper or an online news website, the information found there be reliable, but be careful with using the news, as some of it could just be a rumour. The disadvantage to finding data from news sources is that there may not be anything to do with the subject you’re researching in the news.
http://www.oldspotinn.co.uk [29th September, 2011]
Market Research
Market research is crucial when creating a game, as it reduces the risk of your game failing, helps you develop your product more particularly, as well as earning you the most money you can. It includes four different things, the first being researching things about your customers, such as age, gender, employment, income, and hobbies. This is important as it helps you make your game specific to a certain target audience. The second thing is audience awareness, which is thinking about how you are going to make your game noticed by the public, e.g. by posters or adverts on the TV. The third is product reach, which is the reviewing how people are going to see and use your product. The final thing is competitor analysis. This means that you have to know about new products that are also being made that may be rivals to yours. Most of market research is stereotypical, but it helps you sell your game better and gives you more of a chance to succeed. These things are usually done using primary research.
Market Research Organisations
If you are still unsure of how market research works, you can use a market research organisation, for example, GfK NOP, or RAJAR. These organisations are companies who will do all the research for you. Certain companies will only research a certain type of thing, but others will research anything.
Production Research
Production research is also very important, as it looks at things like financial issues, locations, and facilities. It also looks at copyright issues and how you can resolve them if they ever happen. Production research involves working out the costs of everything, seeing if you can afford it, and if not, finding out where you can hire things rather than buy them. Another thing included in production research is finding out if any companies would want to sponsor you, and whether you have enough time in general to create you product. These things are usually done using secondary research.
Conclusion
After reading this you should be aware of how important research is for your product, and how you can go about it. Market research makes it easier to design your game, as you can narrow your target audience down to certain people, and improve your chance of selling it. Production research prepares you for publishing your game, and all the legal work required to do it.
