Survey ResultsAudience Research

Survey Question Analysis

Introductory Questions

These questions are formed for me to get a good idea of the specific audience taking part in my survey. Using gender and age groups, I can narrow down and categorize the results and calculate average answers to ensure I get a good representation of society.

Question No. 1What is your gender?This question is used at the very start of the survey. The question itself has 3 answer choices; male, female and other. The other option was included as a consideration to those who do not specifically want to specify their gender. This option is used in most surveys nowadays to also lower the amount of ethical issues. This question then has ‘please specify’ bracketed next to it, with a small answer box underneath. This is the most straightforward question in the survey. One reason this was used as the first question is to make the person taking the survey feel more relaxed. Using this as the first question helps because the large majority of people know the answer to this question straight away, which makes them relate to the survey as they know the first answer straight away rather than having to think about the answer.

Question No. 2 What is your age?This question is used straight after the question regarding their age. This is another straightforward question. The answers were split into 6 age groups; 16 to 19, 20 to 24, 25 to 29, 30 to 35, 35 to 39 and 40+. These groups were decided as I knew the majority of people taking part in my survey would have been around the younger age. This was also decided based on the fact that I have a brief, although not specific, idea on the target age range I want to focus on for my magazine. Instead of capping the limit on 40, I gave an option of 40+. This gives an opportunity for all people to participate in this question, and even though I was expecting to receive a heavier group of answers in my first few choices, I wanted to make sure I had every group covered. This question is positioned directly after the first question because, as I’ve said before, it makes the person participating in the survey feel like they know the answers straight away which allows them to feel comfortable in the survey.

Question No. 3 & 4 – Frequency &

Genres

Question No. 3Would you prefer to read a weekly, monthly or annual issue?This question was created to grasp an idea of something general, such as frequency, which I could use in my magazine. Something like frequency, although it can be seen as boring, is an important feature to any magazine. The frequency of a magazine shapes sales, readerships, customer loyalty etc. The frequency of a magazine can completely change the features and layout therefore it is very important for me to decide on the frequency I am going to use, early on, to make sure I can progress onto planning everything else. I presented this in a multiple choice question with 3 answer choices. These were; weekly, monthly and annual. I decided to choose these options as they are the most popular choices in the music magazine sector. I could of added other options, such as a bi-monthly magazine, which publishes an issue every other month however I would of generated a low number on this answer and the answer may have been to difficult to understand. I also chose not to put more than 3 answers in as it may have made the results difficult for me to analyse.

Question No. 4What genre of music do you like to read about?This question is slightly more complex than the last 3 due to the way I am building up the questions from the start of the survey to the end. This question uses an answer box rather than using multiple choice answers. This was decided because a question about genres has many answers, it would be impossible for me to list and name every music genre. If someone got to this question and did not identify with any of my answers then they may skip the question, this would make my results in the end more unreliable. Someone may also prefer a mix of genres or have more than one answer in their minds. I worded this question to ask the participant what genre they like to read about rather than listen to because it may produce a completely different answer. I am hoping to receive, preferably, 1 to 2 answers from the participant which will make the results easier to analyse and will also make the choice of my genre easier with a narrower group of genres to look into.

Question No. 5 & 6 – Features Ranking & Listening Choices

This question was one of the, if not the most complex question. This question was designed for me to gain some specific feedback as to the content I should include in my magazine. When I was brainstorming ideas for this question I managed to come up with 4 or 5 questions straight away and I further decided on the rest afterwards. I chose 6 answers as I believe if I had chosen more it would of become confusing for the participant however I wanted to have enough feedback therefore I thought 3 or 4 answers would not of been enough. I chose content that is commonly used in music magazines and some content that is less popular, such as artist’s lives and live music reports. I am hoping I will receive a majority choice in 1 or 2 answers which will give me definitive advice as to what needs to be included in my magazine and then the least popular I may avoid. I think this was the best question for getting the most feedback out. This question could have been divided into 6 singular questions and by combining this into 1 question I have saved myself room to ask more important questions.

This question was a reasonably simple one. It is aimed to mainly give me choices on possible freebies to include in my magazine, e.g. free Spotify premium subscription. This was decided based on the market research I did, in which I found out it was a popular choice with readers to include a freebie in a magazine. An example of this was the free CD’s and posters RockSound featured in an issue I analysed. This question is presented in a multiple choice style, which gives the participant the option to choose between three answers. The three answers I chose summing up the way participants listened to their music, were; Through a music subscription, buying physical copies and digital downloading. I narrowed many different options into the same answer e.g. I narrowed services like Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal into the same category of listening through a music subscription. The answers I chose, I believe, sum up the most popular ways people nowadays listen to music. I could of given an option for online sites such as YouTube however I do not feel like receiving a majority of answers which have chosen this option will help me to contribute anything else to my magazine. This is because the 3 answers I have given all require, mostly, some form of payment which I could change into a freebie for my magazine. I gave examples to my answers to make it as clear and as easy as possible for the reader to understand the question and answer it as truthfully as possible, as if the reader doesn’t understand the options, it is likely they may select the option which does not apply to them.

Question No. 7 & 8 & 9 – Pricing & Subscribing & USP

This is again a multiple choice style question. It gives the participant 6 options to choose from in terms of the pricing of music magazines. This question is asking the participant directly how much they would be willing to pay for a music magazine. The question uses language such as ‘willing’, which is a technique used to make the participant feel as comfortable as possible whilst answering the question rather than using phrases like ‘how much will you pay’, which may put the participant under pressure. The options to the answer are as follows; £0.00 to £0.99, £1.00 to £1.99, £2.00 to £2.99, £3.00 to £3.99, £4.00 to £4.99 and £5.00+. Excluding the last question which has no upper limit as to pricing, the 5 first options all show a range of 0.99p difference between them. This makes the question as fair as possible and makes sure that each answer has an equal chance of getting picked as the others. This makes it easier when analysing the results as there are no issues with the answers and the date I receive will give me clear, precise feedback. The answers I gave will also give me more specific feedback rather than wide ranged answers, e.g. £2.00 to £5.00. Most music magazines on the market currently hover around the £3.00-£4.50 market. The answers I gave give credit to these figures and also give options for prices around this average. This question was created to give me an idea as to the value I should price my magazine at. The pricing is important to a magazine as it is commonly featured on the front cover, which I will be creating myself for my magazine therefore it needs to be carefully considered. I am hoping to receive one specific answer with the majority of results and I can compare those results with existing magazine pricings to hopefully give me the best possible researched, valid price, reasonable price for my magazine.

This question is in a simple, two answer multiple choice form. When conducting my market research I discovered other forms of media such as smartphones, websites etc. played a large part in a magazines success. The most popular, best selling magazines tended to have an online subscription service for their readers. When creating my magazine I am reasonably positive I would like to advertise an online subscription service however I thought it was best to receive feedback to firm my ideas. If I receive a large majority of results in which the participant has selected no, I will rethink my approach and try and include a separate media platform.

This is an open answered question. I wanted to create a really unique feature for my magazine however I was unsure exactly as to what that feature should be. This question was specifically created for me to get an idea as to exactly what the participants are missing in the magazines they currently read so I can adapt my magazine to benefit them.