Advantages and disadvantages of sources

Focus on skill and how this has progressed and changed over from AS to A2.

• Expense/Cost. A lot of the research I conducted over the two years was Internet based and this proved an advantage due to it not being costly. In AS the focus was on magazines so as research it was necessary to buy magazines of the same genre to get a better understanding of layout etc, although this wasn't extremely cost effective. I was also able to get magazines from friends, saving from cost. In A2, much of the research was similar to that of AS as I had chosen to use the same artist, therefore I was able to look back at research in AS to bring forward into A2. Another main source of research in A2 was YouTube, which is a free site that allowed me to look at other videos for inspiration. Additionally, the equipment we used to develop our video making skills, take shots to help practice and shape our ideas for the video was Katy's, therefore no additional cost. Other cost implications included buying the song off iTunes and booking the studio to get practice shots.
• Accessibility. With research being mainly Internet orientated it is a lot easy to gather research and there are no restrictions. Also considering that a lot of my research was already gathered in AS, I had the advantage of being one step ahead in terms of creating an artist etc. I also began starting my research in the summer before school, so time didn't become an issue in the research and planning process.
• Reliability. I felt the majority of the research was reliable as it was mainly looking at real life products that are already successful; therefore you aren't being given any false research. When working in A2 I had already gained a lot of research in AS which had proved reliable therefore I wasn't hesitant on using it again. Additionally my research skills had developed during AS, therefore I was more aware of what research is reliable and where to get it from.
• Accuracy. When I began researching in A2, I conducted a lot of market research on my target audience. For example, I looked at my target audiences current likes and dislikes in music. I also looked at what my target audience thought of bands and individual artists to help shape my idea of whether to carry on using 'Eve T' or not. I felt I got reliable opinions from my target audience.
• Bias. As well as looking at existing products, I studied the stereotypes that came with the certain genre and idea I had in AS and A2. I ensured I looked at various sources so that I could highlight any similarities in terms of stereotypes and this helped to overcome them.
• Validity. Without conducting all my prior research it would've proved difficult to create a convincing and successful character for my artist. Research helped shape my ideas for my project and helped pro-ject my idea so that it was a lot clearer and easier to plan. Without research you wouldn't be benefiting from trial and error.