Research for the TV Industry – It is Getting Harder to Find Usable and Reliable Information

While there is a growing quantity of information available on the Internet, usable information can be hard to find and some of the data can be incorrect. At the IBC trade show, Doug Sheer from DIS Research explained that business leaders and managers need specific information to make good business decisions but much of the information available on the web is summary information which can be old and inaccurate. Much of the information on the web is provided via secondary research (summaries and interpretation of other data on the web) which may be based on speculative information. To get usable reliable research, the research methodology should use current (fresh) data collected directly from the professionals and experts who can provide usable data. Methods that can be used to gather good research information range from direct interviews to categorized online questionnaire form that help to ensure a clearly understood and unbiased responses. Research projects should gather a good sample size (such as over 1200 respondents). A relatively small investment in reliable and focused research can dramatically save companies from significant losses and identify specific opportunity areas.