1. The value of Research and Evaluation:
-some people think that these are just two parts of PR that allow us to get to the more important parts of planning and communication but untrue
-research and evaluation help us to find out if our assumptions hold true to the facts under closer examination and what we can learn that we did not know before
2. Research Strategy:
-primary research=generated from scratch
-secondary (library) research=published materials, organizational records, PR generated by governments
-feedback research= stakeholder groups’ responses to its actions (telephone calls, letters, etc.)
-communication audits=research procedures used to see if communication is consistent with mission and goals
-focus groups is informal research-meet with groups of people for their opinions
3. ROI (return on investment) vs. AVE (advertising value equivalence)
-how to find out the value of PR and if the efforts add to the bottom line
-sometimes value cannot be accounted for in ROI so they turn to AVE (a calculation based on advertising rates and the amount of media coverage)
4. Surveys can be expensive and time consuming but accurate way to get public opinion:
-A survey instrument makes it appropriate for the audience and the words have to be clear.
-There is nonprobability sampling (using available subjects when there isn’t enough time or money) and probability sampling (where every person within the sampling frame has an equal chance of being selected for the sample).
