pr research exam 1

informal research

observing people, events or objects

informal research examples

searching for stories covered by media, observing publics

formal research

systematic gathering, analyzing and evaluating data using some methodology

what are the two types of formal research

qualitative and quantitative

qualitative research characteristics

uncontrolled, subjective, random

types of qualitative research

focus groups, interviews, observation

quantitative research characteristics

data collection controlled, objective & systematic

types of quantitative research

survey, content analysis, experiment

primary research characteristics

new research, examines research questions

secondary research characteristics

existing research, re-examines research

what are the two basic ways research is conducted

theoretical and applied

theoretical

provide the underlying framework for the study of PR

applied

seeks to use theory-driven research in business world situations

what are the four types of research questions

questions of definition, questions of fact, questions of value, questions of policy

question of definition

define what we are attempting to observe

question of definition example

why are blood donations down in red cross’ east alabama region for 2025?

questions of fact

ask questions dealing with quantity, “how much” or “how many”

question of fact example

how many times did you donate blood last year?

question of value

ask “how well” or “how good” something is

questions of value example

how well do you think the campaign did in motivation you to give blood? very well to very poor

questions of policy

ask what should be done

questions of policy example

should we target women over men in our next campaign?

what should research methods be

clear/have well-defined research objectives, have good research design, provide detail supporting documentation

research findings should:

demonstrate effectiveness, link tactics to outcomes, develop better communication process, demonstrate impact on business outcomes, demonstrate cost effectiveness

what is the first step in research

identify the problem or opportunity

research objectives

define problem, set objectives, determine strategy that meets objectives, implement tactics for strategies

6 questions to identify the problem

1. what is the problem?

2. where is the problem occurring?

3. when did it become a problem?

4. how did this become a problem?

5. for whom is it a problem?

6. why should the organization care about this problem?

three types of objectives

informational, motivational, behavioral

informational objective

establish knowledge needed for public

motivational objective

test if information is having an effect

behavioral objective

define success or failure of a campaign

what four areas are taken into account for PR measurement & assessment

1. PR objectives

2. Affected audiences

3. Life cycle of problem

4. Measures

How do you determine publics and audiences

Top down apporach

Aspects of top down approach

population, what publics from population, what audiences, specifics of audiences

B.A.S.I.C communication objectives

build awareness, advance knowledge, sustain relevance, initiate action, create advocacy

B of basic communication objectives

build awareness

A of basic communication objectives

advance knowledge

S of basic communication objectives

sustain relevance

i of basic communication objectives

initiate action

c of basic communication objectives

create advocacy

five types of measurement

awareness recall, knowledge, interest/relationships, preference/intent, advoacy

output measures

highlight number of communication products (tactics) reaching a target audience

outtake measures

quantify what audiences have understood

outcome measures

quantify changes in awareness, knowledge, attitude, and other relevant factors

what do intermediary measures determine

how or why something affects something else

two types of quantitative data

categorical and continuous

standard deviation

a measure used to quantify the amount of variation of a set of data values

what does a low standard deviation indicate

the data points are clustered closely around the average, suggesting consistency

what does a high standard deviation mean

the data points are more scattered and far from the average

core research ethical values

intellectual honesty, fairness, dignity, disclosure, respect for all involved

quantitative research

ability to generalize the larger population, representative samples from larger populations

sampling

systematically drawing a valid group of objects from a population reliability sampling

the larger group selected in the sample is the __________

population

the smaller group selected from the population is the ___________

sample

3 ways of collecting respondents

census, nonprobability sampling, probability sampling

census

using all members of population, we don’t have to generalize

nonprobability sampling

rely on available members, can’t generalize

probability sampling

randomly selected from population, can generalize

sampling types

scientific sampling (probability), nonscientific sampling (convenience sampling)

scientific sampling is also known as

probability

nonscientific sampling is also called

convenience sampling

scientific sampling

selected groups represent population from which drawn

nonscientific sampling

only allows for descriptions based on people studied

coverage error

not an up to date sampling frame

sampling error

a statistical error that occurs when you do not select a sample that represents the entire population of data

measurement error

people misunderstand or incorrectly respond to questions

example of measurement error

choosing ambiguous words (never, occasionally, sometimes, etc)

cross-sectional sampling

single sample randomly drawn from the population

longitudinal sampling

sample from a population over time

three types of longitudinal sampling

trend sampling, panel sampling, cohort trend sampling

trend sampling

sample different people from population over time

panel sampling

sample same people from population over time

cohort trend sampling

sample different people over time but only those who meet certain characteristics

does census have error?

no, you have not missed anyone

nonprobability sampling

everyone not accessible, cannot generalize, based on who surveyed, are they representative

example of convenience sampling

you work at a clothing store downtown and poll customers on what food choices they think we should have on campus

quota sampling

select accessible people but weight sample so that certain characteristics are represented

example of quota sampling

you survey your sisters at a sorority meeting about what food choices they think we should have on campus

purpose sampling

have a particular reason for selecting certain participants

purposive sampling example

survey only people that eat at the one campus food trucks in a 5 day period on what additional food choices they think we should have on campus

volunteer sampling

occurs when you select your participants based on their agreement to participate in a research project

example of volunteer sampling

you post your survey on your FB page, and only your friends are encouraged to participate

snowball sampling

have limited knowledge of the population (get info from a friend of a friend of a friend)

the normal curve (bell shaped curve)

normal and equally distributed

standard deviation

the average deviation from the mean

probability theory

looks at the likelihood of occurrence of random events in order to predict the behavior of defined systems

95% confidence level z score

1.96

99% confidence level z score

2.58

what do you need to consider with sampling size

sampling error (confidence), measurement error (accuracy)

q in sample size formula

population size

c in sampling size formula

sampling confidence

e in in sampling size formula

measurement error allowed

p in sampling size formula

expected outcome

survey characteristics

in depth information (attitudes, beliefs, values, can generalize)

poll characteristics

simple measurement (event exit polls, telephone polls)

what do you need to consider in choosing survey of poll

who will be surveyed and how respondent is selected

survey design (probability) types

cross-sectional and longitudinal design

cross-sectional (snapshot survey design)

snapshot of audience at a given time

longitudinal design

data gathered at multiple points in time

ways to gather data

telephone, mail, internet, person-to-person