 What is Public Relations Research? Research is important and thus it is the key to a successful Public Relations programme. Research assists in gathering information and data.  Public Relations research usually consists of investigating three aspects of overall Public Relations procedure: (please refer to your Hand book for PR page 31 to 35 and review these aspects). o Client or organisations requiring the research; o Opportunity or problem to be addressed; o Audience (publics) to be targeted.

 General purposes of research: o Reporting o Description o Explanation o Prediction  Reasons for PR research o Increasing fragmentation of audiences o Increasing isolation of management from the public o Saving time, effort and money o Information for planning o Generation of publicity

 The use of research for planning, monitoring and evaluation Planning: the main stages of the planning phase of research are issues forecasting, learning about publics, planning media use, and considering possible outcomes. Monitoring: Monitoring a Public Relations operation requires a specific check on results, opposed to general monitoring a public opinion, which goes on with issue management. This process can be as simple as checking the broadcast to ensuring that the advertising is running in the correct time slots purchased or perusing a magazine to ensure that the advertisement really appears. Final evaluation: The stage allows the Public Relations practitioner to a final evaluation of each objective and to measure how much was achieved.

 Informal research: this type is conducted without generally agreed-to rules and procedures that would enable someone else to replicate the same study.  Formal research: this process can be divided into two categories: o Qualitative research: includes historical and legal research, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and panels. This category is descriptive and informative but not measurable. o Quantitative research: this type can be conducted in the laboratory or in the field. It may include content analysis and survey analysis. Quantitative research results in a mathematical analysis because it produces measurable results.

 Research Methods (please refer to your Hand book for PR page 33 to 34). o Individual Questionnaires o Group questionnaires o Postal questionnaires o Telephone questionnaires o Competitions o Focus groups o Individual interviews o Content analysis o Informal discussions o Observations

 Research Brief A research brief is drawn up by the research user or marketer. This provides a clear communication on the description of perceived problem to the researcher. This process will assist in drafting the research proposal. The following are found in the research brief: o Background o Objectives of the research o Action standards o Target market o Timing o Budget o Reporting requirements

 Research proposal The proposal is drawn by the researcher and it is based on the research brief received from a prospective client. Once the proposal is accepted by the client, the proposal will thereafter serve as an agreement between researcher and client. The following are found in the research proposal: o Background o Definition of problem or information required o Research objectives o Research design o Sampling design o Methods of data collection o Questionnaire design o Costing and timing o Special needs o Resources of the firm