Издательство Kogan Page, 2007, -256 pp.
Серия PR in Practice
Ask any group of PR practitioners around the world to list the major issues facing their discipline, and it is almost certain that evaluation of PR activity will be ranked very highly, if not the number one topic. The measurement of activity and outcomes has many facets which will be described throughout this book. To set the context of evaluation, the theory and debate over the discipline of public relations need to be explored. For some practitioners, theory is ‘stuff’ that gets in the way of ‘doing PR’. Yet theory is developed from observed practice and helps predict outcomes. This, in tu, gives greater strength to practitioners in developing robust campaigns. Evaluation helps them define campaigns, monitor their progress and provide evidence of outcomes. So theory and sound evaluation practices can and should go hand-in-hand.
Public relations is a relatively new professional activity that is still developing its body of knowledge and theoretical approaches. At present, the role that theory plays in public relations practice is limited. As practice expands worldwide, the demand for greater agreement on concepts, embodied in models and theory, is expected to grow, if only for reasons of clarity of communication from one nation to another.
The adoption of the scientific research process for the study of public relations issues and problems offers many advantages to practitioners in the creation of effective campaigns and other public relations activities. Robustly researched theories offer prediction, understanding and replication. Prediction gives greater assurance to planning and execution of activities and a practitioner could, therefore, buttress his or her professional experience with the application of relevant theory to explain that, if a certain course of action is followed, it is likely that certain consequences may follow. That a practitioner can apply proven theory will help in the making of ‘intelligent practical decisions’. When there is a lack of theory, it is exceedingly difficult to create a consistent decision-making methodology for use in planning and evaluation, let alone make predictions on outcomes of public relations activities.
Public relations practice is in the humanistic, social science framework and therefore unlike the more precisely measured natural sciences. Because public relations activity uses a multiplicity of com - muni cations techniques, it does not operate in isolation (as would a natural science experiment in a laboratory) from other communications influences and so concepts and theories are likely to be based on observed practice. However, predictive understanding has already been identified as an important value of theory for use by the practitioner. Whether objective knowledge can be obtained, in the style of natural science, is a challenge for future research programmes. At present, it is most probable that understanding based on observation is likely to create the path forward for public relations theory as it has done for much of social science (see, in particular, the discussion of action research in Chapter 4).
Practitioners are often closely involved in the mechanics of their activities and need to develop a structured understanding of the issues they are influencing in order to understand the attitudes of others. They also need the rigour of predictive understanding to verify logically the phenomena (such as publics, communities and media) with which they plan to communicate.
Replication is another attribute of theory that has value for planning of public relations programmes. If theory provides clear guidance to ‘explain and predict phenomena of interest to us’, the theory should be applicable in many similar situations. It can thus be replicated in practice and in future research activities.
For public relations, the methodology of the scientific research process in its social sciences form offers the opportunity to create model theory that can be applied to current practice. Practitioners of public relations are active in an industry that has evolved rapidly by borrowing concepts from a wide range of other disciplines. There is an increasing opportunity to develop theory that is relevant to practice.
Principles of public relations practice
Evaluation and communication psychology
Practitioner culture – why we do what we do
Gathering and interpreting information
Evaluation structures and processes
Developing a media evaluation system
Evaluation in practice – case studies
Objectives and objective setting
Relationship and crisis communication measurement
The challenge of the online environment
Future developments
Серия PR in Practice
Ask any group of PR practitioners around the world to list the major issues facing their discipline, and it is almost certain that evaluation of PR activity will be ranked very highly, if not the number one topic. The measurement of activity and outcomes has many facets which will be described throughout this book. To set the context of evaluation, the theory and debate over the discipline of public relations need to be explored. For some practitioners, theory is ‘stuff’ that gets in the way of ‘doing PR’. Yet theory is developed from observed practice and helps predict outcomes. This, in tu, gives greater strength to practitioners in developing robust campaigns. Evaluation helps them define campaigns, monitor their progress and provide evidence of outcomes. So theory and sound evaluation practices can and should go hand-in-hand.
Public relations is a relatively new professional activity that is still developing its body of knowledge and theoretical approaches. At present, the role that theory plays in public relations practice is limited. As practice expands worldwide, the demand for greater agreement on concepts, embodied in models and theory, is expected to grow, if only for reasons of clarity of communication from one nation to another.
The adoption of the scientific research process for the study of public relations issues and problems offers many advantages to practitioners in the creation of effective campaigns and other public relations activities. Robustly researched theories offer prediction, understanding and replication. Prediction gives greater assurance to planning and execution of activities and a practitioner could, therefore, buttress his or her professional experience with the application of relevant theory to explain that, if a certain course of action is followed, it is likely that certain consequences may follow. That a practitioner can apply proven theory will help in the making of ‘intelligent practical decisions’. When there is a lack of theory, it is exceedingly difficult to create a consistent decision-making methodology for use in planning and evaluation, let alone make predictions on outcomes of public relations activities.
Public relations practice is in the humanistic, social science framework and therefore unlike the more precisely measured natural sciences. Because public relations activity uses a multiplicity of com - muni cations techniques, it does not operate in isolation (as would a natural science experiment in a laboratory) from other communications influences and so concepts and theories are likely to be based on observed practice. However, predictive understanding has already been identified as an important value of theory for use by the practitioner. Whether objective knowledge can be obtained, in the style of natural science, is a challenge for future research programmes. At present, it is most probable that understanding based on observation is likely to create the path forward for public relations theory as it has done for much of social science (see, in particular, the discussion of action research in Chapter 4).
Practitioners are often closely involved in the mechanics of their activities and need to develop a structured understanding of the issues they are influencing in order to understand the attitudes of others. They also need the rigour of predictive understanding to verify logically the phenomena (such as publics, communities and media) with which they plan to communicate.
Replication is another attribute of theory that has value for planning of public relations programmes. If theory provides clear guidance to ‘explain and predict phenomena of interest to us’, the theory should be applicable in many similar situations. It can thus be replicated in practice and in future research activities.
For public relations, the methodology of the scientific research process in its social sciences form offers the opportunity to create model theory that can be applied to current practice. Practitioners of public relations are active in an industry that has evolved rapidly by borrowing concepts from a wide range of other disciplines. There is an increasing opportunity to develop theory that is relevant to practice.
Principles of public relations practice
Evaluation and communication psychology
Practitioner culture – why we do what we do
Gathering and interpreting information
Evaluation structures and processes
Developing a media evaluation system
Evaluation in practice – case studies
Objectives and objective setting
Relationship and crisis communication measurement
The challenge of the online environment
Future developments