CCN204 Audience Analytics

Unit Outline: Flexible Period - 08A 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal (Start Date: 22 Jul 2024)

Overview

Digital technologies have transformed the way communicators engage with and understand diverse media audiences. This unit will explore the fundamental theoretical frameworks, methods and metrics for identifying and understanding audiences. An applied and critical understanding of audience analytics is crucial for communication professionals. This unit builds upon and deepens the ideas and methods for audience analysis introduced in earlier units in this course.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Collaborate in teams to understand client needs and respond appropriately.
2. Use a range of industry standard technologies to collect, analyse, manipulate and present audience data.
3. Identify solutions and make recommendations to address client problems and needs.
4. Reflect upon the ethical and legal implications and requirements relating to the analysis of online audience behaviours.

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit is taught via a blended approach that combines elements of online delivery and face-to-face.

Learning experiences in this unit include:

• participating in class/online tutorials/lectures
• engaging with online learning materials
• reading book chapters, scholarly and industry articles
• engaging with industry-standard analysis tools

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will receive feedback on your learning in a variety of ways, including:

• Informal formative feedback in tutorials,
• Self-assessment tools,
• Peer feedback,
• Formal written or recorded feedback on both formative and summative assessment tasks in addition to the grade on the Criterion Reference Assessment sheet.

Assessment

Overview

In this assessment you will complete two tasks:

1. Audience Analytics Individual Presentation - This task draws on key understandings of audience analytic approaches, methods and metrics as well as reflecting on ethical and legal issues relating to collecting, using and storing audience information and data.

2. Audience Analytics Project - This task expands on the individual presentation by collaborating with a team to identify a client's needs, and propose data-driven solutions and recommendations.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Audience Analytics Individual Presentation

In this assignment you will pre-record a video presentation to a hypothetical client. In this presentation, you will identify, assess and consider the critical implications, including ethical and legal, of applying various audience research approaches, tools and methods to conduct audience analytics. Your presentation will need to be supported by reference to and discussion of appropriate scholarly literature introduced in the unit.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Audience Analytics Project

You have been assigned to a consultancy team who must respond to a client brief. The client is requesting an in-depth analysis of their current audience characteristics and online behaviours as well as recommendations on strategies for enhancing audience engagement and extending their audience reach.

As a group you will role play meeting with the client to better assess their needs. This role play will be recorded and simulate what happens when meeting with a client. You will respond to this meeting by writing a report to address these needs. In the report you will apply appropriate theoretical frameworks and audience research methods and tools to identify, measure, explain and analyse the behaviours of a specific media audience and make recommendations. The results of your analysis will be presented in the report, which incorporates appropriate visuals and graphs.

Finally, you should individually reflect on the experience of working in a team to understand the needs of a client and develop the response.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

For risks associated with using campus buildings or facilities, refer to the Tier 1 General Health and Safety Induction.

This unit requires you to engage in the use of social media and therefore you need to take appropriate steps to ensure that your privacy settings are up-to-date. For assistance on updating your privacy settings visit the Managing your privacy on social media page on the QUT web site. You may also like to have a look at the Creating a Better Online You online module, which explores how to promote yourself on social media, how to protect yourself online and your wellbeing online. If you have concerns about using social media, because of privacy, social, cultural or political reasons please discuss these privately with the unit coordinator.

You are advised to back-up your digital files on a regular basis to ensure work is not lost if there is a hardware failure. Information about the free file storage provided by QUT for students is available on the Storing your files page.

Course Learning Outcomes

KC87 Graduate Diploma in Digital Communication

1. Independently propose data-driven solutions to contemporary communication issues
   Relates to: ULO3, Audience Analytics Individual Presentation, Audience Analytics Project
2. Analyse data using industry standard tools and platforms leveraging advanced capabilities
   Relates to: ULO2, Audience Analytics Individual Presentation, Audience Analytics Project
3. Collaborate and negotiate with peers from diverse backgrounds using culturally appropriate ways of engaging
   Relates to: ULO1, Audience Analytics Project
4. Analyse critical issues in media and communication industries with consideration for diversity.
   Relates to: ULO4, Audience Analytics Individual Presentation, Audience Analytics Project
5. Tailor culturally appropriate communication strategies and content for a variety of audiences and formats.
   Relates to: ULO4, Audience Analytics Individual Presentation, Audience Analytics Project

KC88 Master of Digital Communication

1. Independently propose innovative, data-driven solutions to contemporary communication issues
   Relates to: ULO3, Audience Analytics Individual Presentation, Audience Analytics Project
2. Analyse data using industry standard tools and platforms leveraging advanced capabilities to address industry and research problems
   Relates to: ULO2, Audience Analytics Individual Presentation, Audience Analytics Project
3. Collaborate and negotiate with peers from diverse backgrounds using culturally appropriate ways of engaging
   Relates to: ULO1, Audience Analytics Project
4. Evaluate critical issues in media and communication industries.
   Relates to: ULO4, Audience Analytics Individual Presentation, Audience Analytics Project
5. Tailor and implement culturally appropriate communication strategies and content for a variety of audiences and formats.
   Relates to: ULO4, Audience Analytics Individual Presentation, Audience Analytics Project