Questionnaire

As part of the audience research, a questionnaire would prove to be very helpful. The views of the student body are crucial as they will be the main demographic. By asking them questions, it not only gives an insight to their opinions but also will guide towards creating a magazine that is right for all. Below are the questions I asked and the reasonings behind each of them.

1. How old are you? What year are you in?

I asked these two questions as different ages will have different interests, and both will have to be addressed when I make my school magazine.

2. Are you at a mixed school or a same sex school? (Please state your school)

Similarly to age, both genders will have to be addressed in a same sex school; this could prove difficult if there is limited space. However same sex schools will only be targeted to a particular gender and there will be no issue of limited space.

3. Do you currently buy/read any magazines? If so, which ones?

I have asked this question because it enables me to see what the demographic is drawn to. This helps me as I can use the common conventions of favourite magazines when I am creating the student magazine.

4. What are your main interests in and out of school? Music, Films, Sports, Other (please specify if your interests are listed above)

This will help in the decision making process of what features and stories to include in the magazine. By offering some options of main interests, it generates ideas for the person answering the questions rather than them having to think of interests on their own. However I have not limited them to only three options as I have put 'Other' as well and I have also asked them to be specific as to what genre of music/film/sport they enjoy.

5. Would you prefer the magazine to be organised and created by the teachers or by fellow students?

Teachers and students will both have a different outlook on school life. It would be interesting to see whether the students would like a mature and uniform approach to the magazine from teachers or a fun approach from the students.

6. What would you most like to see featured in a school magazine?

Similar to asking about their interests, by finding out what they would like to see in the magazine helps in the planning process of what to include in the magazine.

7. How often would you like a school magazine to be published and distributed? Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly, Every term

This will show what is the favourite distribution period. If the magazine were to be issued weekly, it may be too similar to a school's weekly gazette or bulletin notices. The magazine may be limited to what it can produce in that amount of time, each term may mean important issues are not covered quickly enough. By asking students this question, we can see what time period is more popular.

8. If a school magazine was to be created, would you read the magazine?

The results for this question will be one of the most important. If there is no demand for a school magazine, it would be entirely pointless as no-one would be willing to read it. However if every student was to want a magazine then the budget for publishing would have to be deeply considered.

9. Would you like the magazine to distributed to everyone in every form or would you rather subscribe?

We would need to think about arranging a place where people are able to subscribe and where to keep their relevant information. We would also have to consider whether the subscription would last a year or a term.

Thank you for taking the time to answer this questionnaire. If you have any other thoughts about a school magazine, please list them below.

You would need to thank them for answering the questionnaire as they are helping you throughout your decision making process. By asking about more thoughts on a school magazine, the students may be able to include something else that wasn't already thought of or make their opinions more clearly.