Abstract:

Editorial Research is regarded in these notes as research having any bearing upon a publication's design, content, style, and philosophy - political or otherwise. It may also, of course, have bearing upon aspects other than the product itself, i.e. promotion, pricing, and marketing strategies in general. If Editorial research is to be effective, i.e. provide the required service to those commissioning it, it is essential that a number of conditions be met. In a sense they are all obvious. However, they are by no means easy to recognise or satisfy in practice. It is also rare that all of them will be satisfied. They are phrased from the researcher's point of view, but one only has to turn them round to have a set of criteria that the commissioner of editorial research should apply before briefing anyone to do research. Before discussing them I would like to consider the role of the editor.