school magazine questionnaire

My idea for a school magazine is to make it interactive with the students and target audience but also beneficial and educational so they can get up to date with school. I want it to be something they look at and think “I didn’t know this” or “I would like to know more”. But I didn’t know how to achieve this in a way that would reach my target audience and allow them to be just as involved in making it as me. My target audience is secondary school pupils, so it was going to be a challenge. 

I decided a questionnaire would be the best choice to get people involved with it because it would be easier for them to access and easier to see the results. I also decided that doing it online would be better because more people use social media now than paper and so it would have been easier for them to access straight off their phones. So, I did a questionnaire on Google and sent it to a couple of friends to send to their friends. This made it get around the school so it could be a fair test including all the years and sixth form. I started the questionnaire with asking they like school because it would give me a standing point to whether they were going to take the questionnaire seriously or not. It would also give the individual a starting point to the questions and give them an idea of what it was going to be about. This is the response I got: 

 

With these responses I knew that it had reached the right audience who were going to take this questionnaire seriously and who were going to give answers and mean them. Even though only 25% were no it still meant I had a variety of people in this questionnaire and so I was going to get a bunch of different answers which I wanted. If more people answered no, then I knew that they were less likely to read it and enjoy it or take part in it. if more people answered yes then I know that it has reached the right audience and who are more likely to take it seriously. However, because I only had 20 responses there was only going to be a certain range of answers compared to if there were 100 people responding.

The second and third question was asking what year they were in and gender they were and what year they were, this was to see if I did have a variety of people and who my target audience was going to be. By getting these responses I knew that my target audience was a range of people, mostly year 7 and sixth form. This meant that my magazine had to be both sophisticated and easy to read so that both groups could enjoy it and benefit from it. By doing it via quiz it meant that I could have a better outcome because a wider range of people use the media and by being in sixth form myself it means I could pass it around to the people I know, and it meant I have more variety to start with. When I decided to ask what gender the students where, I made sure to add another option which was "preferer not to say" to include everyone and make them feel included and like they could be themselves in this questionnaire. This would give off a positive mood to the magazine because it would show people how it is inclusive and means to involve everyone. 

The fourth question was what the individuals would like to see in a school magazine. by giving them variety and choice, it meant that they could have their own say on things and what they wanted to say. Instead, if I made my own choices on what was in the magazine then there would be a less of a chance of them reading it and enjoying it. Many people said gossip and although that would be exciting for people to read, it wouldn't be fun for the people who the gossip is about. A suggestion that I think would be successful is giving information on after school clubs and when they are because it would be helpful for the people wanting to attend them and also for the people who want to know more information about them. Another suggestion I would consider putting into the magazine is fun things about teachers like "teacher of the week". this would be like a fact people didn't know about them or something that would bring conversation around teachers. This would be a good thing because it builds topics for conversation between students and teachers and makes the classes more welcoming and familiar if the students already know a bit about the teachers. The final two things that I would include into the magazine is having a quiz or a puzzle that the students have to solve for the week like a word search or sudoku. this is to make it inclusive and gives the students a range of things to do, the level of difficulty would also range because the younger years might find it more challenging and the older years like the college students might find it easier. I would also include a final section asking the students what they want to see in the next weekly magazine. This is so I can see if any ideas have changed and what they find positive and negative about the magazine and what I can do to make it better. 

The fifth question was what their favourite subject is. This is to get a familiar idea to what they enjoy in school, for example if they enjoyed PE then I would put more sports activities in or if more people enjoyed music, then I would include more things to do with music. Having a wider range of people who enjoy different subjects are good because it means different people would be reading the magazine and have different opinions about it. because there is a section about giving advice in the magazine it means that people are more likely to contact me and tell me advice directly from my email, which will also be in the magazine. Having this question also helps me with getting to know the individuals and what they like about school. This would help me in the long term because they can engage with the magazine more and I would be able to tailor it to people's tastes. 

The final question was if they prefer light or dark colours. This would help me determine the colours of the magazine like the school colours or dark colours. Some light colours like bright yellows and reds can intimidate people because of how bright they are. People said they proffered darker colours than lighter colours, so I have decided that I'm going to stick with the school colours because it is a school magazine, however I'm going to make them darker so that it is easier to see, for example making it dark blue and dark red. I'm not going to do dark yellow because for me personally it doesn't look good and reminds me of mud, so I don't think it would look good on a magazine. Having people say if they preferer darker or lighter colours gives them an opportunity to have their own say before the magazine comes out. It might also make them feel prouder of themselves and included because they have choses the colour scheme of what it will be like.

This is just my plan for the magazine with the data I have been given. I am taking people opinions into account because it would help them engage into the magazine which will ultimately help me with producing it. I may change my plans to make it simpler or to benefit the people reading it.