Discuss the advantages to identifying the audience before research begins, and audience issues that should be considered

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: Analyzing the audience and other stakeholders enables you to consider the problem from their point of view and identify concerns that you will need to address. To analyze the audience and stakeholders, ask yourself these questions: Who is the primary audience? For example, in the LMS research, your primary audience is your supervisor, Mitchell Harris, who asked you to research LMS training options.
Who is the secondary audience? In this case, it is the company's senior-level decision makers who will finance an LMS.
Who else may be affected by this problem or decision? Here, additional stakeholders include the employees who will be affected by the integration of an LMS (or other changes to the current training practices).
What does the audience already know? What do they need to know? Your decision makers know that the company needs a new approach for training and they know that adopting a new system will be a major investment. To make a decision, they need to know the pros, cons, and costs of the different options available.
What questions will your audience expect you to answer when you present the research? They will expect you to answer at least three core questions: Will an LMS be an effective training tool for the company? If so, which tool best meets the company's needs? What is the cost?
What sources will your audience expect you to consult?
This final question—what sources will your audience expect you to consult—is important for your credibility.