Quantitative vs Qualitative Mass Media Research
Mass media affects people in different ways and can influence how society thinks about a situation. Research in mass media can help businesses target their audience for conversions and can also be used for public health reasons. Two methods that can be used in mass media research are qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research is based on ideas and evidence drawn from personal ideas and is conducted through focus groups and interviews with the public. Quantitative research is measured in numbers and is usually obtained through questionnaires. The results are easily analyzed and easy to compare against other data.
An example of quantitative research that contributed to the understanding of behavior in the mass communication field is the study of exploring motivations for binge-watching in young adults. This study used seven motivation scales for binge-watching behavior in the questionnaire sent to students at a university in the southwest region of the US. The four elements for binge-watching that were explored included: the number of episodes, the amount of time, frequency, and binge-watching engagement. The study defined the level of binge-watching as the sum of all four of these elements. Results from the study showed that out of the 292 responses, over half of the recipients were considered light binge-watchers. From the seven motivations that were identified, this study found that entertainment and passing time were the main reasons for binge-watching. The second finding from this study was the difference between traditional tv watchers and binge-watchers is that the binge group preferred to not wait for the next episode like traditional tv watchers must do, and they were able to complete the story in one sitting. Most individuals from this study preferred to binge-watch alone (83%) and they liked to be on multiple devices while
binge-watching the program. Findings from this study coincide with the transportation theory demonstrating that transportation from a medium would influence transportation with an ad placed in the medium. This means that the ads placed in the program had a positive influence on the attitudes of the viewers presenting a high level of media transportation.
The qualitative research method is the second way of gathering data. An example of qualitative research that has contributed to the mass communication field is the study of how binge-watching motivates change from traditional TV consumption to the streaming of videos. A hypothesis was formed that proposed the motives and rituals of binge-watchers was from the uses and gratification theory (U&G). In-person interviews of 36 people were conducted to gather descriptions of why people binge-watch, how people binge-watch, and their feelings about binge-watching. The semi-structured qualitative interviews were open-ended with dialogue between the interviewer and the interviewee lasting approximately 30 minutes each. The age range was between 22–66-year-old men and women. The findings were that the viewer’s motives for binge-watching were catching up, relaxation, sense of completion, cultural inclusion, and improved viewing experience. Viewers also reported that they preferred to watch older shows if they could watch all the episodes in a short period versus waiting for a new season to be released.
"It was reported that the interviewees got a sense of satisfaction once they completed a show as if they finished reading a book and others admitted it was regretful and like an addiction."
A second finding was that binge-watching had a cultural inclusion motivator with online communities and it is an ‘announcement of class’ having a streaming membership.
Both mass media studies pertained to binge-watching, yet both used completely different methods to to arrive at a similar outcome. The quantitative method was performed more scientifically, it allowed for more participants and the structure of the study was more defined. The qualitative method was non-statistical, had a smaller group of participants and their answers were more feelings-based. Mass media is forever changing as technology evolves, which creates the need to analyze a topic using different methods to be able to fully understand both the problem and the solution.
References:
Rosenberry, J., & Vicker, L. A. (2017). Research principles and practices. In Applied Mass Communication theory: A guide for media practitioners (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Sung, Y. H., Kang, E. Y., & Lee, W.-N. (2018). Why do we indulge? exploring motivations for binge watching. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 62(3), 408–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2018.1451851
Steiner, E., & Xu, K. (2018). Binge-watching motivates change: Uses and gratifications of streaming video viewers challenge traditional TV research. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 26(1), 82–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856517750365
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