CONTEXT OF PRACTICE 2 - BRIEF 2 - PARENT QUESTIONNAIRE

As outlined on my research plan I also want to create a short survey which will be distributed to the target audience of my outcome, parents with children attending primary school.

The primary aim of the survey will be to find out if parents are aware of the manipulative techniques applied by the advertisers to influence their children. Moreover, a secondary aim of the survey will be to discover if parents would be interested in engaging with a campaign that educates about such techniques giving them a chance to protect their children from them.  

Results will allow me to see if parents are already aware of the techniques currently practiced by the industry subsequently outlining the relevance of my response to the brief. If parents are already knowledgeable with the topic then I will need to redefine my concept for the physical outcome. 

QUESTIONS

Firstly, I started the process of creation by writing a short introduction to help parents understand the survey questions in context. Additionally, a set of four simple questions were also defined to form the main content of the questionnaire.

The introduction and questions were created in Microsoft word to ensure that no spelling mistakes were made.

CREATING THE SURVEY 

After the introduction and range of questions had been finalised the survey was composed using an online website called SurveyMonkey which allows users to create mullti-question surveys and distribute them via a web-link online. 

DISTRIBUTION

After finishing the survey online a web-link was made available allowing me to distribute the questionnaire via internet based sources. As my target audience consists of parents with children attending primary school I searched the internet for forums relevant to my target audience that had a lot of user activity. By finding forums where my target audience regularly visit I can disseminate my survey online and receive informed responses from the outlined audience. 

I found a website called 'netmums' which is a forum based site linking up mothers from around the country. I signed up as a member and disseminated my survey on the various notice boards available.

Supporting my link I created a short introduction to grab the audiences attention and hopefully engage them with my survey.

SUPPORTING MESSAGE;

Mothers of the UK! 
I am currently collecting a body of research for a university project and I need your help. Please complete the survey by following the link below and help me to understand your views regarding the manipulation of your children by the advertising industry. 
Survey Link - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KJ5SSK8

Once I became a Netmum I was free to add posts to the noticeboards available on site. 

RESULTS

I left the survey for a few weeks while progressing with other aspects of the project to accumulate some responses.

Unfortunately, despite disseminating the survey around the internet I only received a dismal six responses to the questionnaire meaning that I could only gain a very limited insight into the target audiences existing thoughts and feelings surrounding the topic.  

Despite the limited amount of responses a basic idea of parental knowledge surrounding subject could still be defined by analysing the results gained.

• Of the six people the responded to the survey four had no idea how advertisers come into contact with their children.
• One participant answered other, specifying 'Adverts?' in the comment box, this indicates they have some knowledge but are unsure as to whether they are right. 

• 80% of the participants who completed the survey were unaware of the techniques used to manipulate children.
• The results from this question indicate that there is a need for an educational outcome to inform parents of the methods applied by advertisers.

• 100% of survey participants want to know more about the subject.
• Establishes there is a definite need for an educational outcome aimed at parents.

• Finally, 100% of survey participants were also interested in knowing how to protect their children from manipulative advertising.

RESPONSES

After analysing the results from the survey I established that the majority of parents are completely unaware of the methods used by advertisers to manipulate children indicating that there is a need for an education outcome. Moreover, this idea is further supported by the results from the last two questions which indicate that 100% of survey participants would be interested in knowing more about the subject. 

One thing that I will do differently next time relates to the surveys distribution, instead of relying on online methods of distributing I will disseminate future surveys personally. In doing so, I will be able to go to an environment in which the target audience are found and physically collect responses in person, this will allow me to collect a number of responses and improve the quality of the insight derived from analysing the surveys results.