Research Dossier

Secondary Research: 

Secondary research is research that you don't collect yourself. This can be found by searching the internet, watching films or reading books.

To conduct secondary research I searched the internet for forums, blog posts and videos discussing the fan culture and how people feel towards their fandom. I found a lot of information on a blogging site called Tumblr which is known as a safe place for fans to discuss their obsessions. I also borrowed a psychology book from college, called Psychology AQA, to see why fans act the way they do.

A forum asking people why they love LotR so much: http://www.planet-tolkien.com/board/13/1319/0/why-do-you-like-lotr-so-much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUyCdnXZ9Lo&list=PLxTKaR0qDaWbP3a9KQeOl9hqOImXcql4f&index=7

Above is link to Daniel Radcliffe talking in a documentary about obsession among fans.

Primary Research:

Primary Research is research that is conducted by yourself, without the use of other people's data/information. This can be your own photos, surveys or record of events.

• Interviews - conducted over Facebook messenger to see if they will fit in with the documentary. Organising a time to film the interview too over messenger with multiple people.

• Surveys

Create your own user feedback survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-FDHYGFJG/

From the survey I have learnt that all those asked have at least heard of LotR, and the majority have watched it. More people are interested in a documentary on multiple obsessions, (some specifically picked out fandoms), compared to specifically Lord of the Rings. Due to this I plan on doing a research on multiple fandoms and have found multiple people to interview for this. I have also gone to a psychology teacher and be loaned a book explaining why people develop obsessions.

I also can use first hand experiences for primary research such as time spent at comic con and money spent on merchandise.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is to do with statistics such as income, sales and ratings.

I researched franchises that I planned on asking questions about to find out how big of a following they had. I also researched 'Tom Felton Meets the Superfans' which was released in 2015. I couldn't find much data on the documentary but it has a rating of 7.8 of IMDb. The data below shows how much money was spent and made on the creation of The Lord of the Rings franchise.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is written research. Examples of written research would be film reviews, discussions, websites and articles.

I piece of qualitative research I used would be the forum listed in secondary research.

Data Gathering Agencies

Some examples of data grathering agencies would be BARB and IMDb.

BARB stands for The Broadcasters Audience Research Board. It is what measures audience and television ratings in the UK. They find out who and where is watching what and when.

IMDb stands for The Internet Movie Database. This is an online database for film, television and video games. Each product contains a list of cast and crew that worked for the film/tv show etc. They also contain plot summaries, biographies, trivia and reviews.

Audience and Market Research

I conducted a survey to ask people what they would most be interested in watching, fan related. The results are what affected the topics I plan show in my documentary.

Production Research

It won't cost me anything to create this film. It will be shot either at college in the green room or in peoples homes there will also be no need for recces. The people I have inquired about interviewing have already given me verbal permission to film them and use the footage in the documentary, so all I have to do is have them sign a talent release.