  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Audience Research
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prof. Kim Gregson | Office: Park Hall Rm 341 |
| Phone: 4-7348 | Email: kgregson at ithaca dot edu or kimatiu at gmail dot com |
| Office Hours: MW 2 to 3, F 9am, or by appointment | AIM Screen Name: kgregson |
Course Description:
Survey of the major forms of audience research in broadcast, print, and online media, with particular emphasis placed on the Nielsen and Arbitron ratings reports. Covers principles of sample surveys; interpretation of audience data; and application to programming, promotion, and sales. Introduces you to qualitative data collection techniques used in ethnographic audience studies.
Course Goals:
- To be able to use media math formulas with available data as demonstrated by performance on classroom assignments and final project
- To read and use examples of Arbitron and Nielsen ratings as demonstrated by performance on classroom assignments and final project
- To use spreadsheets to carry out typical media planning calculations as demonstrated by performance on classroom assignments and final project
- To support target audience selections using demographic, media and brand usage data as demonstrated by performance on classroom discussions and final paper
- To support your media choice decisions with numbers (media math) as demonstrated by performance on final project
- To locate and use data in order to research products, potential target audiences, and potential media markets as demonstrated by performance on classroom assignments and final project
- To identify advantages and disadvantages of different types of media that media planners need to consider in an age of audience fragmentation and advertising clutter as demonstrated by performance on an assigned paper on media mix choices
- To make effective presentations - including presentations involving large amounts of numeric data and involving multi-media (audio, video, stills, webpages, etc.) - as demonstrated by improvements over several in-class presentations
- To become better writers in a variety of styles and for a variety of audiences as demonstrated by blog posts and the quality of class assignments
- To read and use industry trade journals to be informed on current topics in the field as demonstrated by performance on depth of bibliography in assigned papers and richness of sources in blog posts
- To become part of the professional conversation in the fields of advertising and public relations as demonstrated by conversations intiated in the blogosphere and in quality of observations in final blog post
Major Assignments All assignment details are on the class wiki.
- Photo Analysis
- Travel & Tourism Trade Journal Summary
- Target Audience Assignment
- Math Assignments - MRI, SRDS, practice spreadsheets - 10 points each
- Media Planning Blog and Summary Paper - 100 points for posts, 50 points for summary paper
- Final Project & Presentation - 200 for written report, 50 for oral report)
| 95-100 A | 90-94 A- | |
| 87-89 B+ | 83-86 B | 80-82 B- |
| 77-79 C+ | 73-76 C | 70-72 C- |
| 67-69 D+ | 63-66 D | 60-62 D- |
| 0-59 F |
Final Presentations
- Section 1 (9am) - May 8 (Tuesday) - 4:30 to 7pm
Questions/Comments/Criticisms/Suggestions
If at any time something seems unclear to you, please make an appointment to discuss it with me. I'm open to your suggestions and comments. This class is meant to be an open forum for learning and discussion.
The following is a tentative schedule of events subject to change as necessary and desirable. Students will be notified in advance of any changes requiring preparation. Potential variations may include guest speakers, audio/video tapes and other events that may supersede this schedule. Online readings will be put in as links on the online version of the syllabus. There are data sources in the library that we will be using and sessions will be added to the syllabus when we can get into the library; this may change the reading/ discussion schedule. I’ll keep you posted in class.
On days with presentations, we may do half the groups on the first day and the other half on the second day. This will leave some time for questions, for us to finish up previous discussions or start a new topic, and to have a little time for group work.
| Date | Topic |
| Week 1 | Introductions, syllabus and assignments W: intros and go over syllabi, make flickr and MRI accounts take a look at this tvwatch blog post F: before class read and be ready to discuss
|
| Week 2 | W: before class - make a list of general strengths and weaknesses of these media for media planners (as opposed to high school students or government officials) - television (broadcast, cable, satellite), over-the-air radio, magazines, billboards, websites like youtube and blip.tv. Annotate with examples. Bring your lists (can be handwritten, can be in your email) to class for class discussion - no list, no entry.
check out the travel related groups of photos on Flickr |
| Week 3 | M: your blog officially starts this week - you need posts on at least 2 days from Sunday to Saturday - feel free to post more often, the best blogs do here's a cheatsheet for blogger.com before class - in your group divide up these articles and discuss with each other: On the Record: They Aren't Just LIke Us from Media 6/07, Consumer 3.0 from Media 02/07, Calling all pets from OMMA 04/05, Targeting Harried Commuters from OMMA 07/05, Targeting Young Males from Media 1/05, Cracking the Fickle Tween Code from OMMA 3/06, Marketing to Single Women from Marketing Daily 4/27/07, Portrait of the New Media Consumer from Media 02/07 and on your blogs (as individuals) discuss how the industry learns about the audience (use specifics and examples from the articles) and be ready to discuss in class what measures they talk about (we may not know how the measures works yet) and where we might go for info about travellers as our audience (travellers defined broadly)
W: before class - this article from Wired, chapters 4, (p. 11-12), 24 (p. 56-58), 25 (p. 59-60), 27 (p. 63-64) from the BlogBash book on blogging, and the last 2 weeks of posts on Greg Verdino's blog, Beyond Madison Avenue blog, and Micropersuasion blog from Steve Rubel (you can find links to these on our syllabus page
F: Travel and Tourism trade journal article summary due at beginning of class
|
| Week 4 | TV Audience Measures all week M: before class - read ch 9 from Blogging for Business ebook from ebrary (it's about promoting your blog) and be ready to discuss 2 things you're going to do this week to promote your blog in class look at available tv ratings data sources:
F: read the links on this page from Nielsen about changes to their measurements and be ready to discuss (notes and thinking) what Nielsen means by engagement, what changes they're making to measuring both viewing outside the home and inside the home in the local market viewership and what does that mean to media planners, and why in the world is Nielsen interested in internet use? |
| Week 5 | More TV Audience Measures M:photo analysis paper due at beginning of class W: before class read Nielsen Schmielsen and Our Ratings, Ourselves and Nielsen Ratings Digitized F: before class - download this ratings worksheet - print, complete, and be ready to turn it in at beginning of class discussion and practice with some tools to help you research like del.icio.us - before class read Using Delicious to take over the world and part 2 of the article, set up accounts, start your bookmarks, in class we'll go over some other tools and do a little ego surfing |
| Week 6 | Radio Audience Measures all week M: Finish up spreadsheet practice with TV ratings, go over wiki and del.icio.us W: before class - go thru the Arbitron 101 and Programming 101 classes on the Arbitron Self-Paced Learning site from Arbitron (you have to register, it's free) - the classes don't take as long as they estimate (unless you're a really slow reader) - they're worth the time tho and there will be a quiz on Monday F: Practice with radio ratings in spreadsheets |
| Week 7 | M: review for midterm - spreadsheets, basic math, readings, photo analysis W: midterm in class, bring calculator, Kim gone to Virtual Worlds conference F: Kim gone to virtual worlds conference assignment to come - probably something to read, sites to visit, and post about on your blog Post your group target audience papers on the class wiki by Saturday at noon. Be sure to check that it looks ok - wiki's don't like tabs, want blank lines in between paragraphs. |
| Week 8 | M: before class read New Media Metrics whitepaper google/web analytics W: internet advertising F: fall break - no class |
| Week 9 | Print Media M: be ready to discuss 2 more things you're going to do this week to promote your blog before class read Understanding Magazine Subscription from the Magazine Publishers of America W: Readers per copy data from NAA article about magazine readers per copy F: Take a look at NAA info on consumer segments - including a whole set of research on travel consumers |
| Week 10 | Outdoor Audience Measures M: Guest speaker - movie marketing, licensing & promotion W: before class check out the Outdoor formulas |
| Week 11 | Viral & Guerilla Measures M: before class read post from Greg Verdino's blog and Tryvertising trend report |
| Week 12 | Virtual Worlds M: before class read Never Ending Friending report on social networks from PHillips Design Research read Sam 3.0: VIrtu-Real Teen from OMMA 4/07 W: before class read "Avatar-Based Marketing" in Harvard Business Review Jun2006, Vol. 84, Issue 6 in the library database Business Source Premier |
| Thanksgiving | no class this week |
| Week 13 | M: Catch-Up W: Work in Class F: work in class |
| Week 14 | final summary post for blog due this week F: projects due today (12/17) |
| Week 15 | time to work on presentations which you will give during the final exam time |
Policies
Ithaca College Attendance Policy
Students at Ithaca College are
expected to attend all classes, and they are responsible for work missed during
any absence from class. At the beginning of each semester, instructors must
provide students in their courses with written guidelines regarding possible
grading penalties for failure to attend class. Students should notify their
instructors as soon as possible of any anticipated absences. Written
documentation that indicates the reason for being absent may be required. These
guidelines may vary from course to course, but are subject to the following
restrictions:
1. In accordance with New York State law, students who miss class due to their religious beliefs shall be excused from class or examinations on that day. Such students must notify their course instructors at least one week before any anticipated absence so that proper arrangements may be made to make up any missed work or examination without penalty.
2. Any student who misses class due to a verifiable emergency - such as an illness requiring attention by the health center, or hospitalization, death, or serious illness of a family member, or required appearance in a court of law - shall be excused. Students may notify the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life, which will notify the student's dean's office, as well as residential life if the student lives on campus. The dean's office will disseminate the information to the appropriate faculty. Follow-up by the student with his or her professors is imperative. Students may need to consider a leave of absence, medical leave of absence, selected course withdrawals, etc., if they have missed a significant portion of classwork.
A student may be excused for participation in college-authorized co-curricular and extracurricular activities such as athletic events, ROTC, musical and theatrical performances, and professional conferences if, in the instructor's judgment, this does not impair the specific student's or the other students' ability to succeed in the course
The course instructor has the right to determine if the number of absences has been excessive in view of the nature of the class that was missed and the stated attendance policy. Depending on the individual situation, this can result in the student being removed from or failing the course.
APC Approval: 4/22/05
Faculty Council Approval: 5/3/05
Provost/VPAA Approval: 5/11/05
My Attendance Policies
Three absences will result in a loss of one full letter grade (from an A to a B, not from an A to an A minus). Six absences and I will ask you to withdraw from the class.
If you miss class when we have a scheduled group work day, you lose 10 points on the final project (take the grade the group gets and subtract 10 for your grade). The group project is very important and group time in class is not to be wasted. More importantly, you need to treat your group members with respect by showing up prepared to work.
Students must follow the usual add/drop/withdrawal procedures; however, faculty members have the right to remove a student from a course in accordance with official College policy, as follows:
Faculty Right to Remove Students from a Course
1. An instructor can drop any student on his/her roster if s/he does not attend the first class meeting of the semester and fails to notify the instructor in advance that s/he cannot make the class; and/or
2. For nonattendance after the first full week of classes (or after the first class meeting of a physical activity, leisure, and safety [PALS] course) if the student has made no contact with the faculty member; and/or
3. Any time a student violates the written rules for remaining in good standing in the course.
Faculty action to remove a student from a course is not automatic and will be undertaken at the discretion of the faculty member. During the first week of class, students may be removed from the course. In weeks 2-10, a grade of W will be recorded. Students should not rely on faculty members to remove or withdraw them from courses.
STUDENT CONDUCT CODE OF ITHACA COLLEGE (http://www.ithaca.edu/link_index.php?url=http://www.ithaca.edu/attorney/policies/vol7/Volume_7-70102.htm&source=handbook)
STANDARDS OF ACADEMIC CONDUCT
A. Academic honesty is a cornerstone of the mission of the College. Unless it is otherwise stipulated, students may submit for evaluation only that work that is their own and that is submitted originally for a specific course. According to the traditions of higher education, forms of conduct that will be considered evidence of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to the following: conversations between students during an examination; reviewing, without authorization, material during an examination (i.e., personal notes, another student's exam); unauthorized collaboration; submission of a paper also submitted for credit in another course; reference to written material related to the course brought into an examination room during a closed-book, written examination; and submission without proper acknowledgment of work that is based partially or entirely on the ideas or writings of others. Only when a faculty member gives prior approval for such actions can they be acceptable.
B. It is the responsibility of instructors to inform students clearly in writing of specific rules, procedures and/or expectations pertinent to their particular course that differ from those identified in paragraph A of this section. In those courses where limited consultation among students is permitted in the preparation of assignments, it is extremely important for instructors to clarify the guidelines for appropriate conduct.
C. In situations where a student may have difficulty in distinguishing between acceptable behavior and academic misconduct, it is the responsibility of the student to confer with the instructor. This is particularly important for avoiding plagiarism when written sources are used in the preparation of papers or take-home examinations.
Because Ithaca College is an academic community, ignorance of the accepted standards of academic honesty in no way affects the responsibility of students who violate standards of conduct in courses and other academic activities.
D. All members of the academic community are expected to assist in maintaining the integrity of Ithaca College, which includes reporting incidents of academic misconduct. Such instances may be reported to a faculty member, the dean of the school involved, or the director of judicial affairs.
PLAGIARISM
Whether intended or not, plagiarism is a serious offense against academic honesty. Under any circumstances, it is deceitful to represent as one's own work writing or ideas that belong to another person. Students should be aware how this offense is defined: Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's published or unpublished ideas, whether this use consists of directly quoted material or paraphrased ideas.
Although various disciplines follow styles of documentation that differ in some details, all forms of documentation make the following demands:
- That each quotation or paraphrase be acknowledged with footnotes or in-text citation;
- That direct quotations be enclosed in quotation marks and be absolutely faithful to the wording of the source;
- That paraphrased ideas be stated in language entirely different from the language of the source;
- That a sequence of ideas identical to that of a source be attributed to that source;
- That all the sources the writer has drawn from in paraphrase or direct quotation or a combination of paraphrase and quotation be listed at the end of the paper under "Bibliography," "References," or "Works Cited," whichever heading the particular style of documentation requires.
A student is guilty of plagiarism if he/she fails, intentionally or not, to follow any of these standard requirements of documentation.
In a collaborative project, all students in the group may be held accountable for academic misconduct if they engage in plagiarism or are aware of plagiarism by others in their group and fail to report it. Students who participate in a collaborative project in which plagiarism has occured will not be held accountable if they were not knowledgeable of the plagiarism.
What, then, do students not have to document? They need not cite their own ideas, references to their own experiences, or information that falls in the category of uncontroversial common knowledge (what a person reasonably well-informed about a subject might be expected to know.) They should acknowledge anything else.
Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty
Other violations of academic honesty include, but are not limited to, the following behaviors:
- Handing in to a class a paper written by someone else;
- Handing in as an original work for a class a paper one has already submitted to another course;
- Handing in the same paper simultaneously to two courses without the full knowledge and explicit consent of all the faculty members involved;
- Having someone else rewrite or clean up a rough draft and submitting those revisions as one's own work;
These offenses violate the atmosphere of trust and mutual respect necessary to the process of learning.
Note: Students who would like help in learning how to paraphrase or document sources properly should feel free to come to the Writing Center in room 228 of Roy H. Park Hall for assistance.
Students With Disabilities: In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation will be provided to students with documented disabilities on a case by case basis. Students must register with the Office of Academic Support Services and provide appropriate documentation to the college before any academic adjustment will be provided. To contact that office call 274-1005, or contact Leslie Schettino, Director of Support Services for Students With Disabilities, at lschettino@ithaca.edu.
This page last updated 15 November 2007 by Kim Gregson