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Recommended: Researchers need to apply ethical principles to their studies

Research is a fundamental part of the Public Relations planning process. It has different basic functions from helping to set communication objectives; to identify key publics and develop campaign messages (Tench and Yeomans, 2009). Additionally, it is used to define PR problems, assess plans and proposals, and measure the programme implementation and impact. According to Wimmer and Dominick (2006), the most used research methods are interviews, surveys, focus groups, and discourse analysis. In this essay I am going to take a closer look at the last two, assessing their strengths and limitations, and their usefulness within the discipline of PR.
Discourse analysis is defined as a research approach, which has roots in linguistics, psychology, cultural studies, and sociology, and whose main focus is the analysis of talk and text. By text we refer to any written, spoken, and nonverbal language, along with visual images such as photos, films, and advertisements (Daymon& Holloway, 2011). According to Willig (2008, p.165) this approach” proceeds on the basis of interaction with the text.” Attention should be focused on the interpretive repertoire; that is the style, figures of speech, how they come from key metaphors, and terminology, as they construct and make the purpose of a text. This type of analysis moves beyond the textual examination and assesses the process, through which meanings are generated, how language is used, why, when and by whom. Discourse analysis is not a traditional method of research; it rather gives the researcher an extensive academic framework regarding the nature of discourse and its role within social life, along with suggestions on how to study it (Potter and Wetherell, 1987). Critical discourse analysis fo...

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...way of not seeing”. Focusing solely on a certain issue might result in neglecting others that are equally important. The interactions between participants could silence specific aspects of that particular subject (Moisander and Valtonen, 2006). As with most of the research methods ethical issues need to be considered; confidentiality, anonymity and impartiality being primordial for the wellbeing of the participants.
Whichever the method, it has been discovered that” most public relations research [is] casual and informal, rather than scientific and precise “(Lindenmann, 1988). This connects to the fact that public relations still needs to develop its body of notion and knowledge. Because of the multi-disciplined nature of practice, e.g. public affairs, corporate relations, etc., PR practitioners need to identify the approach suitable to their type of communication.

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