College Magazine Questionnaire, Analysis and Evaluation

To ensure the outcome of this survey was not unduly influenced / distorted by gender bias, an equal number of male and female college students were asked to participate in this survey. The chart above illustrates that there were an equal number of male and female students who participated in the survey. Ensuring that there were an equal number of participants from each sex, will enable me to ascertain whether either male or female students are more likely to be interested in a college magazine. The question is whether or not I should allow my magazine to conform to this convention and have a gender bias, if indeed these results are representative of my target audience population in general. However, in order to appeal to the widest possible audience and to maximise sales, I will adopt a gender neutral magazine, ensuring that it appeals to both sexes. This data will provide me with a clear focus during the design / development phase of my magazine, so I can maximise its popularity with my target audience. 2) Do you read magazines?

The chart above illustrates the split between those of who usually read magazines (60%) and those who generally do not (40%). The graph illustrates the variances between male and female students, with 80% of female students and 40% of male students indicating that they read magazines. These results would suggest that my magazine should have a gender bias towards female students, seeing as they are more likely to read / purchase my magazine. However, I will not conform to this convention and will ensure that the magazine is gender neutral. Therefore, the remaining analysis of the questionnaire results will consider male and female separately.

From this pie chart we can see that 50% of those students surveyed, said that they would like a college magazine to be available. Only 30% of students had a negative view and believed the idea of a college magazine to be a waste of time. The remaining 20% were undecided. These results show that some students have a somewhat indifferent view as the need / benefit of having a college magazine. Therefore when developing / designing my magazine, I will need to ensure it stands out, has content that students will want / need to read , thus creating demand, whilst also ensuring it has the widest possible appeal in order to maximise sales / distribution.

From the graph above we can see that the majority of students surveyed, namely 8 out of 10 (80%), favoured a termly published magazine, whilst 2 students (20%) indicated that a monthly publication would be their preference. Furthermore, 50% of those surveyed also liked the idea of an online version of a college magazine. There would be considerable financial benefits of just having an online magazine, particularly with regards to production and distribution costs. However, as the students indicated they wanted an online version, in addition to a hardcopy version, I will offer both options. I will conform to my target markets decision and publish my magazine termly and make an online copy as well.

The students were asked to select five topics that they would like to see feature in a College magazine. The graph above illustrates that the most popular choice was Music, selected by 8 (16%) of students, closely followed by Money Matters, Advice and Offers & Discounts each scoring 7 (14%) votes. The third most popular topics, each achieving 5 votes (10%) respectively, were Career Paths, Studying & Exams and Sports. Both College News & Interviews and Politics topics each scored 2 votes (4%). The two least popular choices, scoring only 1 vote (2%) each were, Bullying and The Arts. These results provide me with a clear insight as to the features that I should consider including in my magazine, particularly given their popularity with the participants in the survey, my target audience. Selecting the most popular topics would ensure my magazine appeals to the widest audience possible and therefore maximise sales / distribution.

Another possible way to attract students would be to include offers and discounts in the magazine, as indicated by the data collected in respect of Question 6. Offers and Discounts was the second most popular feature selected. The graph above, illustrates that Music, which scored 7 votes (23%) was the most popular category for offers and discounts, closely followed Clothing with 6 votes (20%). Gigs and Festivals also proved popular with those surveyed, scoring 5 votes (approx 17%) each. Food followed with a score of 4 votes (13%) and finally, offers and discounts relating to cinema achieved 3 votes (10%).However, to incorporate offers and discounts, it would be necessary for the students to pay for the publication to cover the additional cost that would be incurred. Unless that is, the added cost can be offset against any advertising or these are purely advertising offers and discount provided by a third party. The magazine has to be cost effective to make it worthwhile; otherwise this may not be possible. I do believe the popularity of the magazine would benefit by their inclusion. Therefore, this will require further consideration / investigation.

My target audience were asked to confirm what type of language that they would want to see used for the magazine (Formal or Informal). From the chart above you will see that there was an even split between the two options, 50% of the students surveyed opted for Formal language and 50% opted for Informal language. I will need to consider the merits of using a combination of the two languages to maximise the magazines appeal or opt for a single language after consideration of the overall results of this questionnaire. However, my own preference would be to see informal language, as I feel this will ensure the magazine has a wide appeal and is not considered too similar to a textbook in style.

My target audience were asked to confirm the design format that they would want to see used for the magazine. From the chart above you will see that the majority of students, 70% favoured the Easy to read & find information option, whilst the remaining 30% opted for the Bright and engaging format. These results suggest that I will need to adopt the format favoured by my target audience, if my magazine is to have audience appeal. However, there is the risk that the magazine will end up resembling a textbook, if I were to adopt this option. On the other hand there is also a risk associated with going against convention and the majority, namely the magazine fails to appeal to its target audience. In this instance I will conform and go with the majority, though I will be careful to ensure the format doesnt become too text book like in appearance.

The graph above illustrates my target audiences preferences when they were asked to confirm the colour scheme that would appeal most in a magazine. The most popular choice with the students was a Natural colour scheme, which secured 60% of the votes, followed in second place by the Bright colour scheme with 30% of the votes. The Pastel colour scheme was the third most popular, securing only 10% of the votes, whilst the Neon option proved unpopular securing no votes. Selecting an appropriate colour scheme is important to ensure my magazine appeals to the widest audience possible and therefore maximise sales / distribution. The Natural colour scheme would have been my preferred option, had I participated in this survey and I will therefore conform and go with the majority in this instance.

Selecting an appropriate, yet effective name for a magazine is always going to be a difficult and tricky proposition. Particularly, as it choosing the right name can be pivotal to the magazines success or failure. The magazines target audience were given six options to choose from and the results of this survey are illustrated in the graph above. Three of the suggested names appear to have appealed most to the students, namely Education+, Inspired and College Life, as all three managed to gain 25% of the votes. Education Today and Notice Board were some way behind, as they only secured 10% of the votes, and as for Student Room, this proved the least popular choice with only 5% of votes. An effective title will need to be one that stands out amongst other titles and has audience appeal. Unfortunately for me, there is no clear winner and I will therefore need to consider the merits of the 3 most popular names, individually before having the casting vote. I may consider obtaining the views of an additional number of students to see if there is a clear favourite. However, this would require more time and as a result, I will put this decision on hold for the time being and see if during the design / development phase, one name suits the magazine more than the others.

The graph above illustrates my target audiences preferences when they were asked to confirm what they thought was a reasonable amount to pay to purchase the magazine, if indeed they would expect to pay anything at all. The results indicate that the majority of students, 50%, would be prepared to pay, 1 for the magazine. However, 20% of students surveyed expected the magazine to be free, 20% said they would pay 0.50. Only 10% said that they would pay as much as 1.50 for the magazine.I feel this question is particularly pertinent and I will therefore need to seriously consider the participants preferences when setting the price for my magazine, because as we know many students live day to day on a tight budget. This should ensure my target audience is not deterred by the price set.

In order to attract the students into reading my magazine the front cover needs to be eye catching, draw students in and stand out more than other magazines. The graph above illustrates that the most popular image for the cover, scoring 50% of the votes, was Students Socialising in this survey. This was closely followed in joint second place by images of Student Work and Students Studying, each scoring 20% of the votes. The least popular options were Students & College Building which secured 10% of the votes and Technology which failed to attracted any votes. I am able to therefore conclude that for my magazine to appeal to my target audience, I will need to adopt a similar image on the front cover, in order to maximise sales. This option would also allow me to create a front cover which has no gender bias.