Research Revisited

In the last post I discussed how my public relations class conducted a research campaign.  In this post I will provide more in-depth information regarding the first arm of public relations.  A good research campaign must begin with an good understanding of current opinions.  Our class used secondary (information gathered by someone else) research to better understand college broadcast stations.  We also met with our client (the college broadcast station) to understand what he wanted to know about his organization.  Our second task was to conduct large surveys.  Surveys are considered primary quantitative data.  The information from surveys can be used to create statistical information as well.  In politics the first poll conducted is referred to as a benchmark poll.  These polls usually track a candidates standing, and support for the candidate/opposition based on different issues.  In our class we then conducted more in-depth research using interviews as well as focus groups.  The information gathered here was qualitative data.  This information is not usually provided as a statistic, however, common ideas amongst your participants provide good information.  Good research starts with understanding the problem, then understanding the public's perception, then understand what the public wants to see.  It is important to remember to model the number of people and demographics after the demographics population of your potential public (this allows for accurate and applicable information).  Good research is just as good as that!