Primer of Public Relations Research, Second Edition

PRIMER OF PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH

ebook

THE GUILFORD PRESS

Primer of

Public

Relations

Research

SECOND EDITION

DON W. STACKS

THE GUILFORD PRESS

New York London

© 2011 The Guilford Press

A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.

72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012

www.guilford.com

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written

permission from the Publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stacks, Don W.

Primer of public relations research / Don W. Stacks.—2nd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-59385-595-6 (hardcover)

1. Public relations—Research. I. Title.

HM1221.S78 2011

659.2072—dc22

2010013366

v

Preface to the Second Edition

Almost 10 years have passed since the first edition of the Primer of Pub￾lic Relations Research was published. Over that time, several things have

changed the way that public relations professionals understand and con￾duct practice. Four particular changes have arisen to affect public rela￾tions practice. Each will continue to drive how public relations is practiced

and how it is perceived by others over the next 10 years.

First, new technology has changed and has sped up the practice of

public relations. This new technology utilizing the Internet and social

media has taken many practitioners by storm—it fits their niche of market￾ing public relations and media relations quite nicely, and they have quickly

endorsed it as the way to communicate in the 21st century. However, a

closer look at this new form of media shows that it really does not present

new ways of doing research. Indeed, public relations research focusing

on message impact and strategy has not changed at all. The methods—

survey, content analysis, focus group, in-depth interviews—are still the

methods. The material being coded or asked about—blogs, tweets, and

so forth—are still messages that differ little from their traditional media

counterparts (newspaper copy, broadcast stories, speeches, interpersonal

contacts). What has changed, and changed greatly, is the amount of those

messages and the ability to go around the traditional media gatekeeper. I

do not think that the social media are a trend that will go away, but will

be data that can be used as part of the total communication milieu, which

will include the traditional media for the foreseeable future.

When I talk to public relations professionals—not the technicians but

those who are actively engaged in communication strategy—I often get

the question “What are the new methods of data gathering and analy-

vi Preface to the Second Edition

sis?” My answer is, “The methods and the data have not changed, but the

analysis—what the researcher can provide for the strategic communication

found in public relations campaigns and programs—has changed, mainly

because the amount of time needed to conduct the research and analyze

the data has changed, and changed at warp speed.” So, readers of the

second edition will note that social media are not covered in a chapter of

their own. Instead, where appropriate, they are covered as part of the data

the methods gather and analyze.

The second change deals with proving the value of public relations in

terms of how investment in the public relations function is returned by busi￾ness, or the ROI of public relations—business being the organization the

public relations function works in and the client-based investment in public

relations programs. Chapter 2 has been expanded to cover this ROI both the￾oretically and practically. From stating measurable public relations objec￾tives (as introduced in the first edition) to the second edition’s expanded

coverage of the research objectives, I discuss how public relations objectives

should focus on the overall business objectives and final goal.

Third, over 30 years of teaching communication and public relations

research methods classes have made it clear that readers who understand

what data are and how outcomes can be measured with stated reliabil￾ity and validity better understand the advantages and disadvantages of

different research methodologies. For the second edition, the coverage of

basic statistics and measurement has been moved to the beginning of the

book. After talking to many college professors and public relations profes￾sionals I have found that most are not comfortable with numbers, let alone

statistics, or with creating outcome measures that can provide valuable

information regarding the ROI question. The statistics chapter also intro￾duces the reader to statistical procedures that will be used in covering the

different methodologies to collect and analyze data.

Finally, best practices is a way of life in contemporary strategic public

relations, which focuses on how research can be conducted to maximize

the contribution of public relations to organizational success. The second

edition now includes a focus on best practices. Readers need to under￾stand how the best-practice approach will make for better research and

aid them in evaluating the data and analyses provided by public relations

research firms.

An Instructor’s Manual in .RTF format will automatically be e-mailed

to all instructors who request a desk copy of this book from Guilford.

Included in the manual are a test bank with multiple-choice, true–false,

short-answer, and essay questions; suggested readings; chapter out￾lines; and case studies. Use some or all of these materials to gauge your

students’ retention and comprehension. In addition, PowerPoint slides

of selected illustrations and other related materials can be found at

www.guilford.com/stacksmanual.

Preface to the Second Edition vii

Writing the second edition has not been a solo undertaking. I am

indebted to four graduate students for a critical review of the first edition

and for reading and rereading copy as it was produced. I would like to

thank MA student Devonie Nicholas and PhD students Koichi Yamamura,

Linjuan Rita Men, and Melissa Dodd for their help in producing this edi￾tion. In particular, I thank Koichi for his insight into needed changes as a

first-time public relations research methods instructor. I would be remiss

if I did not acknowledge the critical appraisals of my ideas by two close

friends—David Michaelson of Echo Research, Inc., and Donald K. Wright

of Boston University. I thank Shannon A. Bowen of Syracuse University

for review and critique of Chapter 5, “Ethical Concerns in Public Relations

Research.”

I am also indebted to my editor, Kristal Hawkins, and The Guilford

Press production team for their professional guidance and critical decision

making in getting the second edition to press. Thanks also to reviewers

Donald K. Wright, Dean Kruckeberg, Tina McCorkindale, Ron Anderson,

and Marcia DiStaso for their comments, questions, and suggestions.

DON W. STACKS

Coral Gables, Florida

ix

Preface to the First Edition

This book is the product of many years spent attempting to prove that

research really does matter in public relations. Most books—both text and

trade—talk about research as being important, as in the ROPE or RACE

models, but very little is said regarding its application in day-to-day prac￾tice. Over a decade ago in Montreal, Donald K. Wright (University of South

Alabama) and I packed a room at the Association for Education in Jour￾nalism and Mass Communication’s annual meeting discussing the need

for research. At that meeting we made an argument for a book that would

present research (and statistics) in a simple, “primer” way. Although the

academics demonstrated their desire, no publisher at that time (or for the

next 10 years, for that matter) was willing to take a chance on public rela￾tions research. Instead, the argument was that mass communication or

speech communication or sociology research methods books sufficed for

the area.

Over these years this book languished. Although it was clear that

today’s practitioner needed to understand and interpret research, little was

being done to provide both the student and the practitioner with a quick

and simple approach to research. Further, academic books took rather aes￾thetic approaches, focusing on science and theory (as appropriate for their

interests—to extend the knowledge base of the humanities and social sci￾ences) instead of the bottom line, or establishing how research added to

an organization’s or client’s ROI (return on investment).

In 1997 Jack Felton of the Institute for Public Relations suggested

that what public relations practitioners and students really needed was a

“research for dummies” book. While this is not a research for dummies

book, it is a primer for research. It presents in what I hope is simple and

x Preface to the First Edition

direct language what research is, why it is conducted, and what strate￾gies (methods) are appropriate to answer the questions being discussed.

Further, it provides understanding into what statistics are, how they are

interpreted, and what they actually tell the practitioner. Finally, the book

offers advice on how to present research findings in direct and simple

ways, avoiding what some call the “chi-square approach.”

I am indebted to several people in getting this project off the ground.

First, to Jack Felton, Donald K. Wright, Bill Adams (Florida International

University), and Dean Kruckeberg (University of Northern Iowa) for their

support, encouragement, and continual prodding to provide something

usable for both public relations students and practitioners. I am further

indebted to Don Wright and Melvin Sharpe for help in selecting and ana￾lyzing the various cases used to make the research speak to the reader. I

would also like to thank Shara Pavlow, who argued for a more student￾friendly book and carefully went over the chapter review questions and

practice problems. Second, to Peter Wissoker and Kristal Hawkins of The

Guilford Press for having a belief in the importance of the project and the

direction that would entail.

Finally, it should be noted that there are many good research methods

books available to the reader who wants a more in-depth understanding

of the relationship between theory, method, and analytical tool. The

reader can find them in sociology, psychology, and business, as well as

both speech/human and mass communication. My treatment is based

on the belief that public relations practitioners need to understand the

research process—not that they will conduct research daily (some will),

but they will have to make important and informed decisions about hir￾ing research firms, evaluating their proposals and end products, as well

as helping to determine how that research benefits the “bottom line.”

DON W. STACKS

Coral Gables, Florida

xi

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition v

Preface to the First Edition ix

PART I. AN INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

1

CHAPTER 1. Understanding Research: An Introduction

with Public Relations Implications

5

WHY CONDUCT PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH? 6

WHAT IS RESEARCH? 8

USE OF RESEARCH IN PUBLIC RELATIONS 15

BEST PRACTICES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS 16

SUMMARY 17

CHAPTER 2. Management of Research in Public Relations 20

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS? 21

PROGRAMMATIC RESEARCH IN PUBLIC RELATIONS 26

PUBLIC RELATIONS BEST PRACTICES AND INFLUENCE

ON ROE/ROI 36

SUMMARY 40

CHAPTER 3. Measuring Outcomes 44

UNDERSTANDING MEASUREMENT 45

MEASUREMENT SCALES 51

xii Contents

AN EXAMPLE IN PRACTICE 62

SUMMARY 66

CHAPTER 4. Descriptive Statistical Reasoning

and Computer Analysis

68

REVIEW OF MEASUREMENT LEVELS

AND “VARIABLES” 69

USING COMPUTER PACKAGES 71

ENTERING DATA INTO THE COMPUTER 72

DESCRIBING QUANTITATIVE DATA 76

INFERENTIAL STATISTICS 97

SUMMARY 100

CHAPTER 5. Ethical Concerns in Public Relations Research 102

PUBLIC RELATIONS ETHICS 104

ETHICS AND THE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH 106

WHO OWNS THE RESEARCH AND THE DATA? 112

SUMMARY 112

PART II. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 115

CHAPTER 6. Qualitative Research Methodology:

Content Analysis

119

DEFINING THE METHOD 119

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS 120

CONDUCTING A CONTENT ANALYSIS 120

COMPUTERIZED CONTENT ANALYSIS 130

CONCERNS ABOUT COMPUTERIZED CODING

OF CONTENT 134

SUMMARY 135

CHAPTER 7. Qualitative Research Methodology:

Historical and Secondary Research Methods

139

GATHERING SOURCES OF DATA 140

SECONDARY RESEARCH 151

SUMMARY 154

CHAPTER 8. Qualitative Research Methodology: Case Studies 157

THE CASE STUDY DEFINED 157

THE (HISTORICAL) CASE STUDY

IN PUBLIC RELATIONS 159

THE GROUNDED OR BUSINESS CASE STUDY 162

ANSWERING RESEARCH QUESTIONS 163

CONDUCTING THE CASE STUDY 165

SUMMARY 169

Contents xiii

CHAPTER 9. Qualitative Research Methodology:

Methods of Observing People

172

IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS 173

FOCUS GROUPS 179

PARTICIPANT-OBSERVATION 190

SUMMARY 193

CHAPTER 10. Quantitative Research Methodology:

Sampling Messages and People

196

SAMPLING 197

ERRORS ENCOUNTERED IN SAMPLING 198

SAMPLING TYPES 200

SAMPLE SIZE AND PROBABILITY SAMPLING 207

SAMPLING STRATEGIES 214

A CONCERN REGARDING RANDOMNESS 218

SUMMARY 219

CHAPTER 11. Quantitative Research Methodology:

Survey and Poll Methods

223

POLLS VERSUS SURVEYS 225

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 226

A NOTE ABOUT “INFORMED CONSENT” 235

QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION 236

REPORTING SURVEY RESULTS 241

NEW TECHNOLOGIES 242

SUMMARY 243

CHAPTER 12. Quantitative Research Methodology:

Experimental Method

248

WHAT IS AN EXPERIMENT? 249

TESTING RELATIONSHIPS 251

ESTABLISHING CAUSATION 254

ESTABLISHING CONTROL 255

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS 257

TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 258

EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGY

AND PUBLIC RELATIONS 261

SUMMARY 262

CHAPTER 13. Quantitative Statistics: Advanced Inferential

Statistical Reasoning and Computer Analysis

265

MAKING QUANTITATIVE INFERENCES

AND TESTING RELATIONSHIPS 266

INFERENTIAL TESTS 272

ADVANCED STATISTICAL TESTING 289

SUMMARY 290

xiv Contents

PART III. OBTAINING AND REPORTING PUBLIC

RELATIONS RESEARCH

293

CHAPTER 14. Writing and Evaluating the Request

for Research Proposal

295

ADDRESSING WHAT YOU NEED 296

IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL RESEARCHERS

AND FIRMS 299

THE RFP 300

EVALUATING RFPs 304

SUMMARY 307

CHAPTER 15. Writing and Presenting the Final Research Report 309

WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT 309

THE ORAL PRESENTATION 315

SUMMARY 319

APPENDIX. Dictionary of Public Relations Measurement

and Research

323

Index 351

About the Author 367