Table Of ContentTHE BUSINESS A Professional and Practitioner’s D Public Relations Collection
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EXPERT PRESS Guide to Public Relations ICH Don W. Stacks and Donald K. Wright, Editors
DIGITAL LIBRARIES AE
Research, Measurement, and LS
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EBOOKS FOR Evaluation • D
BUSINESS STUDENTS . S
Second Edition TA
Curriculum-oriented, born- C
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digital books for advanced David Michaelson • Don W. Stacks AS A Professional
business students, written P
by academic thought Contemporary public relations practice has developed RO
leaders who translate real- over the last several decades from the weak third sister FES and Practitioner’s
in marketing, advertising, and public relations mix to a S
world business experience full player. To help you keep up to speed with the exciting ION
into course readings and changes and developments of publications, this book has AL Guide to Public
reference materials for been updated to provide you with the necessary under- AN
standing of the problems and promises of public relations D
smtuadneangtesm eexnpte acntidn gle taod tearcskhliep research, measurement, and evaluation. PRA Relations Research,
As a public relations professional, this book will guide C
challenges during their you through the effective use of methods, measures, and TIT
professional careers. evaluation in providing grounded evidence of the success IO Measurement, and
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(or failure) of public relations campaigns. This second edi- E
POLICIES BUILT R
tion takes a best practices approach—one that focuses on ’S
BY LIBRARIANS choosing the appropriate method and rigorously apply- GU Evaluation
• Unlimited simultaneous ing that method to collect the data that best answers the ID
usage objectives of the research. It also presents an approach to E T
public relations that emphasizes the profession’s impact O
• Unrestricted downloading on the client’s return on investment in the public relations PU Second Edition
and printing function. BL
• oPenrep-teitmuae lf aeeccess for a David Michaelson has over 30 years’ experience conduct- IC REL
ing research for numerous Fortune 500 companies, univer- A
• No platform or T
sities, and philanthropic organizations. He has an extensive IO
maintenance fees background in communication testing, message develop- N
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• Free MARC records ment, measurement of communications e ffectiveness, and R
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• No license to execute branding. Along with Dr. Stacks, he is the author of numer- S
ous peer-reviewed articles on public relations measure- EA David Michaelson
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The Digital Libraries are a ment and evaluation. He received his PhD in anthropology CH
comprehensive, cost-effective from the New School for Social Research and is a research , M and Don W. Stacks
way to deliver practical fellow of the Institute for Public Relations. EA
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treatments of important Don W. Stacks received his doctorate from the Uni- UR
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business issues to every versity of Florida and is Professor of Public Relations M
student and faculty member. in the Department of Strategic Communication in the EN
University of Miami’s School of Communication. He T, A
has authored or coauthored eight books and over 200 N
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articles, chapters, and presentations on communication E
topics. Dr. Stacks has been recognized by the Public Re- VA
For further information, a lations Society of America as its Professor of the Year LU
free trial, or to order, contact: and received the Jackson Jackson & Wagner Behavioral AT
Research Prize. IO
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[email protected]
www.businessexpertpress.com/librarians Public Relations Collection
Don W. Stacks and Donald K. Wright, Editors
ISBN: 978-1-60649-984-9
www.businessexpertpress.com www.businessexpertpress.com
A Professional and
Practitioner’s Guide to
Public Relations Research,
Measurement, and
Evaluation
A Professional and
Practitioner’s Guide to
Public Relations Research,
Measurement, and
Evaluation
Second Edition
David Michaelson and Don W. Stacks
A Professional and Practitioner’s Guide to Public Relations Research,
Measurement, and Evaluation, Second Edition
Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2014.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other
except for brief quotations, not to exceed 400 words, without the
prior permission of the publisher.
First published in 2010 by
Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-60649-984-9 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60649-985-6 (e-book)
Business Expert Press Public Relations Collection
Collection ISSN: 2157-345X (print)
Collection ISSN: 2157-3476 (electronic)
Cover and interior design by Exeter Premedia Services Private Ltd,
Chennai, India
First edition: 2010
Second edition: 2014
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
This book is dedicated to the memory of John (“Jack”) Felton,
leader, friend, and mentor to both of us.
Abstract
Contemporary public relations practice has developed over the last sev-
eral decades from the weak third sister in marketing, advertising, and
public relations mix to a full player. To help you keep up to speed with
the exciting changes and developments of publications, this book will
provide you with the necessary understanding of the problems and prom-
ises of public relations research, measurement, and evaluation. As a pub-
lic relations professional, this book will act as a guide to effective use of
methods, measures, and evaluation in providing grounded evidence of
the success (or failure) of public relations campaigns. This outstanding
contribution takes a best practices approach—one that focuses on taking
the appropriate method and rigorously applying that method to collect
the data that best answers the objectives of the research. It also presents an
approach to public relations that focuses on establishing the profession’s
impact on the client’s return on investment in the public relations func-
tion, whether that function be aimed at internal or external audiences
using standardized measures. By the end of the book, you will understand
why and how research is conducted and will be able to apply best practice
standards to any research done by supply-side vendors or internal research
departments.
Keywords
content analysis, evaluation, experimentation, focus groups, goals and
objectives, interviewing, measurement, media analysis, nonfinancial
indicators, public relations, quantitative research, qualitative research,
research, research methods, return on expectation (ROE), return on
investment (ROI), sampling, secondary research, standardized measure-
ment, statistical analysis, survey and poll research
Contents
Preface ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xi
Part I Introduction to Public Relations Research,
Measurement, and Evaluation �������������������������������������1
Chapter 1 Introduction to Research and Evaluations in Public
Relations ..........................................................................3
Chapter 2 The Move Toward Standardization .................................15
Chapter 3 The Business of Public Relations ....................................35
Chapter 4 Measuring Public Relations Outcomes...........................49
Part II Qualitative Methods for Effective Public Relations
Research, Measurement, and Evaluation �������������������77
Chapter 5 Secondary Research .......................................................79
Chapter 6 Qualitative Research Methodologies ..............................95
Chapter 7 Content Analysis .........................................................113
Part III Quantitative Methods for Effective Public Relations
Research, Measurement, and Evaluation �����������������135
Chapter 8 Survey Methodology ....................................................137
Chapter 9 Statistical Reasoning ....................................................157
Chapter 10 Sampling .....................................................................173
Part IV Wrapping Up ����������������������������������������������������������189
Chapter 11 The Application of Standards and Best Practices in
Research and Evaluation for Public Relations ...............191
Appendix D ictionary of Public Relations Measurement
and Research................................................................207
References �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������259
Index �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������265
