Research and Evaluation

Research is important in every PR campaign. It is vital for practitioners to have all the relevant information before beginning a campaign, and if new questions arise during the campaign, it's still important to find out the answers. It's so important not to leave holes in your information. You need to give the public enough information so that they won't ask questions, and so that the questions they ask have a positive answer. Many people think that Public Relations practitioners are spin doctors, and in essence, we are. Don't take offence at that label because it's not easy to create a positive image for an organisation. The most commonly used research techniques are surveys, interviews, focus groups, studies, audits, testimonials, as well as searchings library catalogues and databases. All these techniques add to a better campaign.