User Generated Content: Understanding its Impact Upon Contributors, Non-Contributors and the BBC
Lead Research Organisation:
Cardiff University
Department Name: Journalism Media and Cultural Studies
Abstract
The core research team comprises four academics (Dr Claire Wardle, Professor Justin Lewis, Dr Karin Wahl-Jorgensen and Dr Tammy Boyce) based at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, (all of whom have published in the area of citizenship, engagement and news) and a Senior Community Producer/Broadcast Journalist at the BBC (Robin Hamman), who has a strong track record publishing about online communities in academic and journalistic publications. The core team will be supported and advised by the Editor of English Regions and New Media (Liz Howell), Editor of New Media, BBC Wales (Iain Tweedale) and Head of News and Current Affairs, BBC Wales (Mark O'Callahan). The project will definitely undertake research in London, Birmingham and Cardiff, and possibly other locations if time and money allow.
In order to answer these three main objectives, the research will have four different elements
Stage 1: Audience Study
We will conduct:
a. A quantitative electronic survey of current users. Viewers who contact the BBC via email, the website or SMS will receive an automatic response asking them to fill in a short questionnaire.
b. A quantitative survey of non-users. A representative survey of the British population will be carried out to find out who contributes to UGC, why other people do not, and how they feel about UGC in BBC news and current affairs formats.
c. Qualitative interviews and focus groups with users and non-users about their motivations for participating, experiences of participating, and opinions about the UGC which is included in BBC output.
Stage 2: Content Study
We will conduct a content analysis of the UGC submitted to a sample of BBC formats from: Regional and National news pages; the local 'Where I Live' pages in Cardiff, Birmingham and a third site [likely Manchester or Leeds]; and high profile network radio and TV programming (including, where possible, BBC Breakfast News; Newsnight; and Radio 4's Today programme). This will provide a precise snapshot of how current BBC practices are manifested in their output.
Stage 3: Production Study
We will use unstructured interviews and participant observation to discover how UGC is perceived and used in different BBC locations, both nationally and regionally. Researchers would spend time in the newsrooms chosen for the Content Study.
Stage 4: Future Directions
Experimental research to test different UGC formats to discover which are more popular with audiences and which encourages the most learning and engagement with the material. The same news story will be told using a traditional news format, a current UGC format and three different innovative UGC formats. Audience reactions will be compared.
This research project will enable the BBC to understand with greater sophistication why some people provide UGC, why others do not, and what audiences in general think of the increasing use of UGC in BBC output. The research will also provide concrete guidelines for using UGC in the newsroom, considering how to widen participation, improve cost-effectiveness, minimise risk for contributors, and maximise and streamline the flow of UGC throughout the organisation. The research project will also produce presentation materials which can be used by the BBC for in-house training. Finally, the research will create pilot UGC formats which will be designed in conjunction with focus groups, and tested on different audiences to provide the BBC with evidence about which formats encourage the most participation, and which formats are most popular with audiences in general. For the academic community, this project will provide a data set for understanding the phenomenon of UGC more clearly, both from the production and audience perspectives.
In order to answer these three main objectives, the research will have four different elements
Stage 1: Audience Study
We will conduct:
a. A quantitative electronic survey of current users. Viewers who contact the BBC via email, the website or SMS will receive an automatic response asking them to fill in a short questionnaire.
b. A quantitative survey of non-users. A representative survey of the British population will be carried out to find out who contributes to UGC, why other people do not, and how they feel about UGC in BBC news and current affairs formats.
c. Qualitative interviews and focus groups with users and non-users about their motivations for participating, experiences of participating, and opinions about the UGC which is included in BBC output.
Stage 2: Content Study
We will conduct a content analysis of the UGC submitted to a sample of BBC formats from: Regional and National news pages; the local 'Where I Live' pages in Cardiff, Birmingham and a third site [likely Manchester or Leeds]; and high profile network radio and TV programming (including, where possible, BBC Breakfast News; Newsnight; and Radio 4's Today programme). This will provide a precise snapshot of how current BBC practices are manifested in their output.
Stage 3: Production Study
We will use unstructured interviews and participant observation to discover how UGC is perceived and used in different BBC locations, both nationally and regionally. Researchers would spend time in the newsrooms chosen for the Content Study.
Stage 4: Future Directions
Experimental research to test different UGC formats to discover which are more popular with audiences and which encourages the most learning and engagement with the material. The same news story will be told using a traditional news format, a current UGC format and three different innovative UGC formats. Audience reactions will be compared.
This research project will enable the BBC to understand with greater sophistication why some people provide UGC, why others do not, and what audiences in general think of the increasing use of UGC in BBC output. The research will also provide concrete guidelines for using UGC in the newsroom, considering how to widen participation, improve cost-effectiveness, minimise risk for contributors, and maximise and streamline the flow of UGC throughout the organisation. The research project will also produce presentation materials which can be used by the BBC for in-house training. Finally, the research will create pilot UGC formats which will be designed in conjunction with focus groups, and tested on different audiences to provide the BBC with evidence about which formats encourage the most participation, and which formats are most popular with audiences in general. For the academic community, this project will provide a data set for understanding the phenomenon of UGC more clearly, both from the production and audience perspectives.