What methods can be employed to capture data and information from viewers and how can this be automatically input into a database application?

Individual Market research about the television viewing habits of a large cross-section of the reporting population can offer an insight into the success and market share of television activity

1 programmes. The results are analyzed using various software tools and techniques, which enable the collection, processing and communication of information on personal viewing habits. To predict viewing habits, information is required on a range of factors, for example, a person’s occupation, gender, age, family composition, number of television sets owned, location of television sets, how much television is watched per week, etc. 1 Design a suitable data capture form (i.e. questionnaire) to record information on each person (as outlined above). Collect information from around 20 people using your data capture form. Are there any further data requirements? 2 Once the data has been effectively collected and collated, transfer the information to a database of your choice. Describe the problems and solutions involved in the process of structuring the data in the database. (Note: if you have designed the data capture criteria and form correctly then there should be no obstacles to transferring data to a database.) 3 Use your established data and information sources to find the following information and put it into an output format suitable for presentation to a senior manager: – the total number of television sets owned by the 20 people you interviewed; – the average number of television hours watched per week; – the age composition of individuals watching at particular times of the day and night. 4 Discuss the set of information requirements needed by a marketing research function of a business organization investigating viewing habits. Suggest reasons why such information would be of particular interest to business organizations wishing to advertise on television to particular sectors of the population. 5 Discuss the ways in which data and information can be automatically input and output from one application to another application. What methods can be employed to capture data and information from viewers and how can this be automatically input into a database application? (For example, data sensors and data scanning activities are often used for this purpose.)

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