What an audience survey looks like and how to do it…
One community radio station has started to build a good legacy of audience research through their partnership with a research consultancy and their proactive approach to working with academia to test new ideas.
They began some audience research in 2006 as an RSL and learning from that, developed and ran audience surveys since then. The station and consultancy has kindly made two of the later reports available so you can see the sort of data coming from them.
The consultancy has also made available a sample survey and a document of tips which they share with volunteers before commencing their data gathering.
The 2009 survey methodology
This was the fourth listener survey. Previous surveys were conducted during and after the May 2006 RSL, the October 2006 RSL and in October/November 2007, two months after the full-time launch. This survey took place during April 2009 spanning a four week period. The survey was a web based survey and could be accessed on the website or via an email with a link. Details for the survey were given out on the radio programs by presenters and a pre-made jingle, also through an email to the general and volunteer mailing lists and via a text out to people who had previously texted into the station. There were a total of 286 responses which is an increase on the last survey of 13% and a large increase on the response of RSL surveys. One obvious limitation, as with the previous surveys, is that it was biased towards people who have access to the internet. However, the survey jingle included the offer of a paper copy to those who did not have internet access, although this was not taken up by any listener.
Please note that where percentages are given this will not always be out of the full sample of 286 because of missing data – not everyone who responded to the survey answered every question.
You can access the 2009 results report here.
The 2010 survey methodology
The methodology broadly adopted followed that suggested by Janey Gordon, a Principal Lecturer in Media at the University of Bedford. A team of volunteer community researchers were recruited by the station to administer the survey. A short training session was held for the community researchers to introduce them to the basics of carrying out research with members of the public.
The survey was conducted over a two day period in the city centre in April 2010. The sampling approach was ‘opportunistic’; that is, selecting people because they were available in the location at that time. The problem with this sampling method, however, is that it may not be representative of the concerned population. In light of this the community researchers were instructed to try and obtain an equal number of males and females and an even spread of age ranges. The sample was not restricted to those living in the total survey area. Indeed, as the station can also be listened to online, those listing outside this area were also interviewed. In total 283 people were surveyed, of which 189 (70%) were based in the total survey area.
Part of the design of the survey had changed significantly since previous surveys, in that people were asked unprompted what stations broadcasted to the area, which they had ever listened to, which they had listed to in the last month and week. This approach was taken to allow for similarities to the RAJAR methodology which asks people unprompted what stations they have listened in the last week (although the methodology is administered differently). The unprompted approach allowed for a more reliable comparison to other stations and allowed an assessment of the station’s impact on the local radio station market.
The unprompted questions were followed with questions included in the previous public surveys to allow for comparison over previous years. These questions gathered basic demographic information and including prompted questions about whether respondents had heard of and listened to the station, and whether they would listen in the future if they did not do so already.
You can access the 2010 results report, the sample questionnaire and the tips for volunteers.
Using these documents
We have purposely provided these anonymous documents in pdf format to encourage you to think about the applicability of these surveys and how best to modify the approach to take with respect to your own area and community. There are no hard and fast rules so do feel free to adapt this methodology but please credit the research consultancy.
Continue on to read about a different approach another station took
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