Introduction to Public Relations

Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Week 6: Research: Understanding Public Opinion

PART TWO: THE PROCESSWeek 6 Chap. 5, focus is… RESEARCH STRATEGIES

We will study why research is important in public relations and the techniques used to conduct this research in order to obtain valid results.

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Know what types of research techniques are used Know what types of research techniques are used by public relations practitionersby public relations practitioners

Know how to conduct research for public relations Know how to conduct research for public relations campaigns.campaigns.

Understand why research is important.Understand why research is important.

Today’s Learning Objectives are…Today’s Learning Objectives are…

What Is Research?

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Research in public relations is a cyclical process through Research in public relations is a cyclical process through which practitioners:which practitioners:

• Monitor the environments of organizations and their publics.Monitor the environments of organizations and their publics.

• Identify and track events and trends that may influence public Identify and track events and trends that may influence public relationships.relationships.

• Measure the productivity of public relations efforts.Measure the productivity of public relations efforts.

• Provide data to enhance the program’s efficiency and Provide data to enhance the program’s efficiency and effectiveness.effectiveness.

In short – Research means “gathering information” & can be Formal (scientific) OR Informal (nonscientific)

What Research Can Do

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1) Monitor 1) Monitor EnvironmentEnvironment

2) Identify & Track 2) Identify & Track EventsEvents

3) Measure 3) Measure ProductivityProductivity

4) Enhance Efficiency 4) Enhance Efficiency & Effectiveness& Effectiveness

The Role of Research

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Research enables practitioners to:Research enables practitioners to:

• Identify and define publics involved in specific Identify and define publics involved in specific

problems.problems.

• Pretest messages and media to ensure that programs Pretest messages and media to ensure that programs

will produce the best possible results.will produce the best possible results.

• Evaluate the results of programs and campaigns.Evaluate the results of programs and campaigns.

• Design and execute follow-up activities.Design and execute follow-up activities.

Questions to Begin Research

• What preliminary research is needed?

• Which formal research techniques do you need? • Survey• Content analysis• Experimental• Other

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Preliminary Research

We often begin by doing Informal (secondary/nonscientific) research such as:

•Libraries•Databases•Internet•Electronic Publications•Government Documents and websites•Professional Organizations

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For more in depth information, read Lattimore et. al (2013, 4th Ed.), from pages 98 - 102

Libraries1. Academic journals

2. Government documents

3. Directories and reference works

4. Professional and trade publications

5. Newspapers and periodicals

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Databases

• Academic Universe [consisting primarily of periodicals]

• Dialog [a gateway to hundreds of databases – the industry’s largest]

• ERIC [a repository for academic research]

• JSTOR [a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources]

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THE INTERNET PROVIDES ACCESS TO …

• Search engines• Online publishers/encyclopedias (Wikipedia,

About.com, Ask.com etc.)• Governmental agency databases• Professional and business web sites• Corporate web sites

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Watch: Using Google Consumer Surveys for PR research

Governmental Agencies

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• Information compiled by governmental agencies at Information compiled by governmental agencies at all levels is accessible via the Internet. Included are all levels is accessible via the Internet. Included are databases from…databases from…

• Legislative bodies such as the…Legislative bodies such as the…• U.S. CongressU.S. Congress• state legislaturesstate legislatures• both county and municipal lawmaking bodiesboth county and municipal lawmaking bodies

• Regulatory agencies at all levels:Regulatory agencies at all levels:• Federal Food and Drug AdministrationFederal Food and Drug Administration• local zoning boardslocal zoning boards

Professional And Business Organizations

• Survey data dealing with their industries and/or members.

• Archives of their publications and other materials.• Links to other sites or files containing information of

value to practitioners.

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Many organizations maintain Web sites that Many organizations maintain Web sites that may contain …may contain …

Preliminary Research Techniques

• Analyzing file records or news clippings

• Interviewing key contacts (salespeople) or centers of influence

• Organizing committees or study panels

• Using focus groups or national polls

• Practicing ‘casual monitoring’ through phone calls, e-mail, letters

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Using Recorded Information

Here are some various types of organizational records.

You could also include attendance records.

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Personnel

ProductionSales Records

Records

Records

Sales Records

Regulatory, Governmental Records

Every organization operates under Federal, state, county and municipal regulations. Regulation generates two types of records:

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• Those maintained by organizations to comply with regulations.

• Those maintained by governmental and regulatory bodies.

Most are available for public inspection Most are available for public inspection under state and Federal ‘sunshine’ laws.under state and Federal ‘sunshine’ laws.

From Putrajaya…

…to State/Local Councils

Centers of Influence

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• Elected and appointed officials of all governmentsElected and appointed officials of all governments

• Executives and owners of business organizationsExecutives and owners of business organizations

• Elected leaders of civic, fraternal and community Elected leaders of civic, fraternal and community organizationsorganizations

• Clergymen, educators and leading members of other Clergymen, educators and leading members of other disciplinesdisciplines

These are key contacts for a PR practitioner, and are known as opinion leaders in the community, industry or organisation

SPECIAL COMMITTEES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Identify issues before they become problems.

• Suggest alternative courses of action.

• Provide objective views of matters that are difficult for ‘insiders’ to evaluate.

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Decision makers and opinion leaders can be Decision makers and opinion leaders can be assembled regularly or on an assembled regularly or on an ad hocad hoc basis to help basis to help organizations:organizations:

FOCUS GROUPS ARE …

• Most commonly used in qualitative research.

• Usually composed of small numbers of individuals…• who share one or more demographic

characteristics

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Use Open-ended Questions with Focus Groups

• Interviewed using open-ended questions to prompt interaction and gain insight into their attitudes, opinions and beliefs.

• Usually videotaped so that researchers can examine nonverbal as well as verbal expressions.

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Casual Monitoring

Public relations practitioners often monitor information that routinely comes to their attention, including:

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• Print and electronic news reports, monitored for quantity and quality of coverage.

• Incoming mail, telephone calls, sales reports and other documents.

• Content of business and industry publications, trade association reports, and the like.

MOST USED RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

Informal research techniques are most often used by practitioners. The six listed most often in one study:

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• Literature searches and electronic retrievalLiterature searches and electronic retrieval

• Publicity trackingPublicity tracking

• Telephone/mail surveys with simple cross-tabsTelephone/mail surveys with simple cross-tabs

• Focus groupsFocus groups

• Communication auditsCommunication audits

• Secondary analysis studiesSecondary analysis studies

Formal Research Techniques

• Survey Research--this is the formal tool used 90% of the time in public relations.

• Content Analysis--statistical sample of content

• Experimental--Used some with control groups.

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Each technique offers potentially different results that vary in reliability.

For more in depth information, read Lattimore et. al (2013, 4th Ed.), from pages 103 - 105

Survey Research

• Most survey research is designed to…• Identify and/or categorize members

of one or more publics.

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Content Analysis

• Printed materials of all kinds• Transcripts of broadcast information• Transcripts of focus group interviews

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How does it work?How does it work?

Content analysis is a process through which Content analysis is a process through which information can be converted into quantitative information can be converted into quantitative data. The process applies equally to:data. The process applies equally to:

CONTENT ANALYSIS: A THREE-STEP PROCESS

1. Representative samples are drawn from sets of documents or other sources (e.g. 8 news articles from 5 major newspapers on Nestle’s CEO commenting that access to water is not a human right)

2. Selected items are searched for key words and sorted by such factors as length, tone and position in the publication (e.g. front page news in 3 media, 2 half-page articles, a small column in 3 others, keywords/phrases such as “CEO is greedy/inhuman in 4 media articles, 3 agree that water should be commercialised and privatised, and 1article is neutral)

3. Resulting data are analyzed over time or in comparison to other data sets (e.g., for contrary opinions, negative backlash, supportive parties)

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Experimental Research

Experimental research encompasses…• Laboratory experiments conducted in controlled

environments to minimize external factors• Field experiments, in which control is sacrificed to

observe reactions to real environments.

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Experimental Research Pretests Channels

Experimental research in public relations usually deals with pre-testing communication channels and their content, as in brochures and newsletters to determine their effectiveness and also garnering valuable feedback.

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Survey vs. Experimental Research

• Survey research in public relations examines the attitudes and opinions of audience members.

• Experimental research in public relations usually deals with pre-testing communication channels and their content, as in brochures and newsletters.

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Populations and Samples

• Based in probability theory• Used to ensure that results can be generalized to the

larger population

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Systematic research almost always deals with Systematic research almost always deals with samples drawn at random from specified publics. samples drawn at random from specified publics. Random sampling is …Random sampling is …

Five Types of Sampling

Simple random sampling allows each member of a population an equal chance to be selected

Systematic sampling uses a list or directory to select a random sample

Stratified random sampling, in which the population is divided into two groups and samples are drawn from each

Cluster sampling, in which groups rather than individuals are selected at random

Quota sampling, in which fixed numbers of individuals are drawn from sub-groups

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For more in depth information, read Lattimore et. al (2013, 4th Ed.), page 107

More Research Terms

Click on the picture above to hear Rick Fischer, Professor of Public Relations at the University of Memphis, explain some more research terms in PR.

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Research.mp4

ANOTHER RESEARCH OPTION…

• PR practitioners often outsource for their research needs.

• Marketing Research Services, Inc. is an example of a research contractor. The Nielsen Company is another popular option.

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IN SUMMARY…

Research is an important part of any public relations effort. Public relations professionals must be able to measure the effects of their work and make reasonable predictions about future success if they wish to influence managerial decisions in most organizations today.

Public Relations Practitioners have many research techniques available to them to study their publics and find out the best way to communicate their messages.

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Tasks to Accomplish this week…• Your 3rd Online Quiz will start Monday, 30th December,

from 12pm onwards.

• Individual task – Researching Issues for PR Campaigns (instructions on the next slide)

Tasks to Accomplish this week…Researching Issues for PR Campaigns: Complete the following tasks below in a Word Document and send to me by Saturday 4th January before 6.00pm -

1)BMW Malaysia hired your PR company to run a PR campaign on road safety for children in Malaysia. You will need to gather information on the latest accident statistics to help you in planning an effective PR campaign. Based on this week’s lecture, what are the research methods you will use to do this?

2)McDonald’s Malaysia has recently devised a new burger and has instructed its PR department to engage with customers to get feedback on the new burger before it is announced to the public. Promotional materials for the new burger has also been made and you would also like to gauge the effectiveness of these materials. What would be the best methods for you to gather the required information? Give 3 examples.

Tasks to Accomplish this week…3) HSBC Bank and Stanchart are rival UK-based banks who are

competing with each other to take over and acquire RHB Bank, a local Malaysian bank. A lot of media attention has been focused on this issue, highlighting both the positive and negative impact should the major concerns among not just the customers, but the 3,000 employees of RHB Bank. RHB Bank has engaged your PR consultancy to:i. gauge and find out what the media has been saying about the merger so that

it can assign its internal PR department to issue the appropriate response.

ii. Assess the reaction of the existing RHB customers about the impending merger and determine whether they are supportive or against the merger, and what were their immediate concerns.

iii. Lastly, obtain feedback from RHB’s current employees to ascertain their general feeling and concerns about the merger so that they can help address their employees’ fears and anxieties over the merger, especially after a rumour has spread that 1,000 employees from RHB will be retrenched once the merger is complete. They would also like to ascertain which bank, HSBC or Stanchart, that their employees are more positive and confident with.

List and explain the best research methods you can adopt to get information for each of the 3 tasks that RHB wants you to do.