For Level 2 BTECS only - Unit 1 - Research Techniques for Media

This is for years 9, 10 and 11 only

For Unit 1 you will need to:

1. Know about research methods and techniques 
2. Be able to use research methods and techniques to investigate an existing media product 
3. Be able to use research methods and techniques to gather material for a media production 
4. Be able to present results of research.

1. Know about research methods and techniques:

To demonstrate that you know about research methods and techniques you will need to present the following in any way that you want. (e.g. Blog post, Prezi, PowerPoint, Short film, animation, podcast etc)

Methods: primary; secondary; qualitative, eg opinions, attitudes, behaviour patterns; quantitative, eg
ratings, circulation figures, web hits
Techniques: using libraries; using the internet; reading; searching archives; interviews; observations; questionnaires; surveys; focus groups; recce
Information trail: log of library; internet and archive searches Collate: sift and select; organise, eg by name, by date, by type, by content, by information source; index
Store: secure storage; ease of access

You should be aiming to create a detailed analysis of different research methods and techniques. You should evaluate research methods with reference to precise and detailed illustrative examples.

For a distinction: methods and techniques will be explained by reference to precise, well-chosen and detailed examples and they will be subjected to some sort of evaluative procedure or weighing up. For example, a learner might comment, ‘The internet will produce information faster than using a reference book but it will produce a lot more which then needs to be sifted through. This may in the end take longer than getting just what you want from a book.’

So you need to write a report in whatever way you want which discusses the different types of research. You will need to research each of the research methods above and write about them in your own words.