Introduction to Public Relations Research, Measurement, and Evaluation
Part I introduces the reader to the practice of public relations and the concept of “Best Practices.” Chapter 1 provides a quick glance on the history of contemporary public relations practice and how best practices approach makes public relations results important to a company or client. Chapter 2 presents the most current thoughts on measurement standardization and argues that for public relations to be considered a profession, it must establish standards against which its outcomes can be compared and set a basis for the function as a profession. The professional is the strategist who designs the public relation campaign and, in turn, must collect, assess, and evaluate data that tells him or her whether the program is on target and make corrections as needed.
Chapter 3 lays out the role of public relations as a necessary business function and establishes the groundwork for public relations research—research that focuses on business goals and objectives and the stating of such public relations goals and objectives that are measurable and indicative (can be correlated with) of business’s investment in public relations through return on investment (ROI). It also introduces the reader to public relations’ outcomes and what is labeled return on expectations (ROE). Finally, Chapter 4 introduces the concept of measurement, assessment, and evaluation of public relations through a coordinated campaign aimed at measuring predispositions toward behavior through attitude, belief, and value measures.