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Offline Impact Indicators Glossary
Amplification (media): Media response to the film increases its reach, amplifying the film’s message and giving it an extended life. Manifestations may include related stories, localized stories or editorials. There is significant evidence that extended coverage of issues in media can influence political agendas and public opinion.
Amplification (micro, meso, macro): Individuals, groups and institutions amplify the message of the film by commenting on it in public or private fora. Holding screenings of the film for select audiences is a typical example.
Attitude: Through exposure to the film, an individual viewer’s or a group’s attitude about an issue changes. For example, the group or the individual may feel more/less empowered, more/less tolerant, etc.
Awards: The filmmaker or a media organization earns awards for the film or for coverage of issues raised by the film.
Awareness: Through exposure to content, whether primary or secondary, an individual’s or a group’s level of awareness of an issue increases. Awareness is often measured with surveys. A film viewer may also contact the filmmaker directly, stating that his or her awareness of an issue increased.
Behavior: Through exposure to content, the behavior of an individual, group or institution may change. Changes in individual viewer’s behavior are often measured through survey research. There are nearly limitless specific examples of behavior change; the subtypes listed here attempt to cover the bulk of them.
Amplification (micro, meso, macro): Individuals, groups and institutions amplify the message of the film by commenting on it in public or private fora. Holding screenings of the film for select audiences is a typical example.
Attitude: Through exposure to the film, an individual viewer’s or a group’s attitude about an issue changes. For example, the group or the individual may feel more/less empowered, more/less tolerant, etc.
Awards: The filmmaker or a media organization earns awards for the film or for coverage of issues raised by the film.
Awareness: Through exposure to content, whether primary or secondary, an individual’s or a group’s level of awareness of an issue increases. Awareness is often measured with surveys. A film viewer may also contact the filmmaker directly, stating that his or her awareness of an issue increased.
Behavior: Through exposure to content, the behavior of an individual, group or institution may change. Changes in individual viewer’s behavior are often measured through survey research. There are nearly limitless specific examples of behavior change; the subtypes listed here attempt to cover the bulk of them.
Case study: In the social sciences, a case study is a descriptive analysis of a person, group or event. The inquiry is usually highly structured and it investigates a topic within a real-life context.
Civic engagement: This can occur within all categories. An individual viewer may engage in civic life in a new or more robust manner. This might register in voting behavior, joining a political party or movement, or participating in a protest. For groups, civic engagement includes publicly pressuring elected officials, influencing a political agenda or filing lawsuits. For major institutions, including government agencies, this includes official public statements, citations during hearings, calls for investigations, imposing sanctions or penalties, firing officials and taking all manner of legal and legislative actions.
Coalition creation: The film encourages existing groups or individuals not previously connected to come together to form groups or networks for taking action.
Collaboration (media): Media request to work with the filmmaker or related organizations on similar or related stories.
Collective action: Groups or networks of individuals (pre-existing or newly formed) respond to content and act in a concerted fashion, including organizing protests or holding community meetings.
Civic engagement: This can occur within all categories. An individual viewer may engage in civic life in a new or more robust manner. This might register in voting behavior, joining a political party or movement, or participating in a protest. For groups, civic engagement includes publicly pressuring elected officials, influencing a political agenda or filing lawsuits. For major institutions, including government agencies, this includes official public statements, citations during hearings, calls for investigations, imposing sanctions or penalties, firing officials and taking all manner of legal and legislative actions.
Coalition creation: The film encourages existing groups or individuals not previously connected to come together to form groups or networks for taking action.
Collaboration (media): Media request to work with the filmmaker or related organizations on similar or related stories.
Collective action: Groups or networks of individuals (pre-existing or newly formed) respond to content and act in a concerted fashion, including organizing protests or holding community meetings.
Content analysis: In the social sciences, content analysis is the analysis of writing, images or recordings in order to understand "Who says what, to whom, why, to what extent and with what effect."
Direct audience feedback: A consumer of content responds to the filmmaker directly, stating that his or her attitude or behavior shifted with respect to an issue.
Donating: A viewer contributes resources to the filmmaker or to a nonprofit or advocacy group addressing the issue.
Donating: A viewer contributes resources to the filmmaker or to a nonprofit or advocacy group addressing the issue.
Experimental research: An experiment is an orderly, repeatable procedure with the goal of verifying, refuting or establishing a hypothesis. Controlled experiments help determine cause-and-effect by manipulating particular factors (such as exposure to a film).
Field observation: Field observation is the collection of information outside of an artificial setting, such as a laboratory or research setting. Often the researcher is recording observations about subjects interacting with one another or their environments.
Focus groups: In a focus group, a small group of people are asked about their awareness, knowledge, attitudes and behavior related to a particular subject.
Information sharing: Whistle blowers, media organizations, or other kinds of groups or institutions gather and share information in response to the film.
Information sharing: Whistle blowers, media organizations, or other kinds of groups or institutions gather and share information in response to the film.
Interviews: A conversation between two or more people, often about the subject's awareness, knowledge, attitudes and behavior related to a particular subject.
Knowledge: Exposure to content can lead to increased knowledge. A quiz in a survey can reveal whether viewers learned things from the film.
Knowledge: Exposure to content can lead to increased knowledge. A quiz in a survey can reveal whether viewers learned things from the film.
Legal records analysis: A specific type of content analysis that focuses exclusively on legal records (see content analysis).
Lifestyle change: A viewer changes some aspect of his or her personal life, perhaps by spending time or money in different ways. This might include exercising more or buying different products.
Macro: The impact the film had on a powerful institution, such as a government agency or a major corporation, which can result in structural changes.
Media: How the media responded to the film (see media agenda).
Media agenda: The quality and/or quantity of media response to the film has a measureable impact on the news cycle. This is often discovered through rigorous analysis of large datasets of news content (see media, news analysis and content analysis).
Meso: Changes that happen at the level of a group as a result of the documentary film or its campaign.
Micro: Changes that happen to individuals as a result of their exposure to the film and/or the film’s campaign. This could include an individual who was involved with the film’s production, as a subject, for instance.
Lifestyle change: A viewer changes some aspect of his or her personal life, perhaps by spending time or money in different ways. This might include exercising more or buying different products.
Macro: The impact the film had on a powerful institution, such as a government agency or a major corporation, which can result in structural changes.
Media: How the media responded to the film (see media agenda).
Media agenda: The quality and/or quantity of media response to the film has a measureable impact on the news cycle. This is often discovered through rigorous analysis of large datasets of news content (see media, news analysis and content analysis).
Meso: Changes that happen at the level of a group as a result of the documentary film or its campaign.
Micro: Changes that happen to individuals as a result of their exposure to the film and/or the film’s campaign. This could include an individual who was involved with the film’s production, as a subject, for instance.
News analysis: A specific type of content analysis that focuses exclusively on news content (see content analysis).
Policy analysis: Policy analysis usually involves studying various policies in order to figure out the most likely outcomes from different types of implementation.
Priority shift: An organization, such as an advocacy group or a nongovernmental organization (NGO), changes priorities in response to the film.
Priority shift: An organization, such as an advocacy group or a nongovernmental organization (NGO), changes priorities in response to the film.
Self-report by organization: Like direct audience feedback, an organization responds to the filmmaker directly, stating that the group’s position on an issue has changed due to the film.
Survey: Survey research usually involves a questionnaire distributed to a specific population of people in order to determine their awareness, knowledge, attitudes and behavior related to a particular subject.
Volunteering: A viewer volunteers for an organization.
Volunteering: A viewer volunteers for an organization.
Voting data analysis: A specific type of content analysis that focuses exclusively on voting data (see content analysis).
Email questions and comments to media.impact@usc.edu.
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