Lucky Last Blog of Awesome Fabulousness

Week 11

Bye Bye Blogging....Hello Big Assignment!

Well well the lucky last blog of PR. Did anyone else seem to think this chapter was extra long or was it just me? Probably just me :-) Any hoo better press on…

The key points to remember from this weeks reading are:

• research is undertaken at all stages of the PR process
• research contributes to the input, output and overall outcome of an event or campaign
• researcher has a choice of qualitative or quantitative methodologies depending on type of info required
• research is used to identify the requirement for a communication program, assist in establishing that program, to check progress and evaluate the effectiveness
• needs to be ongoing
• thorough research keeps track of budgets
• "the use of research positions public relations as a purposive, goal-directed, and problem-solving management function" (Broom and Dozier)
• time, money and the availability of human resources are three of the most difficult obstacles that can prevent a thorough research program
• recognising the level of research skills and knowledge in the organisation can identify further obstacles in the research process
• research techniques include; surveys, mail, face-to-face and internet
• some other commonly used techniques include; focus groups, case studies (which we have all learnt throughout this textbook), analysis of data, feedback analysis, media monitoring, benchmark research, environmental monitoring, testemonials, expert review and secondary information sources
• one of the most effective ways in measuring research is through inputs, outputs and outcomes

(I'll just state here that the diagram of the research and process model was rather clear and informative, helping to describe the importance of the research relationship and furthering my understanding)

• input research indicates what problems or opportunities exist, what the perceptions and beliefs of the publics are, and what tools or methods of communication would be most effective in helping the organisation achieve its objectives
• includes status, history, overview of previous campaigns and SWOT analysis
• public must be segemented into target groups
• exploratory research offers details on the situation and often reveals gaps in the info at hand
• secondary research is gathered from existing resources
• benchmarking is used to identify the situation before a program or campaign is implemented and then measure the success or failure
• output research gathers info on the message and activity content
• useful for measuring activities
• measured the effectiveness and quality of the communication mix
• outcome research indicates the levelof success or failure and demonstrates the effectiveness of the planning and communication
• primary and secondary research are so obvious by now that after doing ancient history if I didn't know what the difference was, I shouldn't be at university

(On my ancient history note, the same goes for qualitative and quantitative research - also found in business studies - and so as I already knew a great deal about these, it wasn't very new information)

• PRIA's code of ethics should be taken into account when undergoing research programs
• formal and informal research methods can be used to gather information with the choice of methodology depending on the levels of reliability needed, information required and budget
• input and output research are necessary to plan, monitor and manage successful PR activites, with outcome research measuring the overall success of failure of a program

The reading this week made me think more about PR from a research point of view. As nearly every chapter of this book has proven, nothing is very simple in public realtions. It's not just the idea of going out to research a campain; there are many steps and factors that need to be considered. I never knew something as instrumental as researching could be so intense.