THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MEDIA RESEARCH

Before we move on to the topic, let us first be clear about the concept of media research and gain some understanding about it.

Research literally means to investigate,to know something scientifically.So scientific method of investigation is research.Research uses concepts like objectivity of approach and the acceptability of the results hence it is called as science.Objectivity indicates to observe things as they are and Acceptability is judged in terms of the degree to which observations and experiments can be reproduced.The findings should not be altered by the mere alteration of the investigator.then only it is termed as objective.Research is also called as science because it is less prone to errors.
Research is of two kinds.
• Natural science research
• Social science research

Media research is a part of communication research and falls under social science research.Media research does the scientific study of mass communication and media and its interaction with the people as individual and as group.
Survey conducted to investigate what segment of consumers read which periodicals and/or listen to or watch which radio or television programs is Media Research.Media research mainly concerns media content and activities of media professionals,media owners and audiences.Media research may be media centric or society centric.Some scholars even define media research under the following headings
• People or behaviour oriented research
• Message or artifact oriented research

All the academic field of study needs research and media studies is not the exception.Research can be conducted in various forms of media’s ranging from print media to broadcast media,out-of-home media to interactive media.

Print media includes newspapers, magazines, directories, mail, brochures, packaging, and all other forms of message delivery that are produced by printing words or images onto paper or any other material like balloons or T-shirts.Its circulation, readership, management etc can be studied and researched on to bring out the perfect product in the market

Broadcast media includes radio and television.Here frequency of the news,coverage time span,size of the news covered can be studied through research.

Out-of-home media is also known as place-based media. This includes billboards, outdoor boards, transit posters, theater and video ads, product placements in movies, aerial advertising, eletronic kiosks, ads in elevators, banner displays on ATMs, sidewalk chalk messages, etc.

Interactive media is two-way media that allows both companies and customers to send and receive messages between one another. This includes websites.
The above mentioned aspects of print media and broadcast media can also be studied in out-of-home media and interactive media.

Media research is not done only for professional purpose.People tend to get the intellectual joy and feel that their works can be of service to the society.Media research opens new avenues to understanding of media and its contents for further generations as well.