Topic
This blog entry takes a look at the study "Educating Public Relations Students to Enter the Blogosphere: Results of a Delphi Study," written by Shearlean Duke, Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism at Western Washington University, in the winter of 2009.
Subject
A study that examines preparedness of public relations students to enter into practice with the ability to utilize blogs to conduct public relations initiatives
Study Methodology
The Delphi technique, a qualitative method of extracting expert opinions by way of questionnaire developed by the Rand Corporation in the 1940s and 1950s (BNET, n. pag.), was employed in this study in an effort to probe public relations practitioners about the ways in which Weblogs (blogs) are reshaping public relations practice as well as ways in which instructors can prepare students for these changes.
Questionnaires were disseminated over time in an effort to obtain feedback, opinions, and forecasts from the panel of seventeen practitioners. This method does not offer controlled scientific methodology with any quantifiable data; however, there are some advantages to this technique in public relations scholarship as "it enables researchers to collect opinions from a select group of highly qualified practitioners who may work at competing organizations in a wide geographic area," (Duke, 321).
Study Pool
While the study used a small pool of participants, Duke is careful to clearly frame the researchers efforts to identify "qualified" participants. The panel included top executives from global agencies as well as two international consultants. It also included experts in new media who were middle management as well as some junior practitioners. In addition, most of the panel participants blog. "A 2007 study concluded that practitioners who blog thought they possessed more expertise than those who do not blog," (Duke, 322).
The research questions in the three questionnaires focused on "two specific topics: (1) how blogs are changing the practice of public relations, and (2) educating future practitioners so that they can succeed in the blogosphere," (Duke, 323).
Conclusions of the Study
Result of topic (1) (How Blogs are Changing the Practice of Public Relations):
This blog entry takes a look at the study "Educating Public Relations Students to Enter the Blogosphere: Results of a Delphi Study," written by Shearlean Duke, Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism at Western Washington University, in the winter of 2009.
Subject
A study that examines preparedness of public relations students to enter into practice with the ability to utilize blogs to conduct public relations initiatives
Study Methodology
The Delphi technique, a qualitative method of extracting expert opinions by way of questionnaire developed by the Rand Corporation in the 1940s and 1950s (BNET, n. pag.), was employed in this study in an effort to probe public relations practitioners about the ways in which Weblogs (blogs) are reshaping public relations practice as well as ways in which instructors can prepare students for these changes.
Questionnaires were disseminated over time in an effort to obtain feedback, opinions, and forecasts from the panel of seventeen practitioners. This method does not offer controlled scientific methodology with any quantifiable data; however, there are some advantages to this technique in public relations scholarship as "it enables researchers to collect opinions from a select group of highly qualified practitioners who may work at competing organizations in a wide geographic area," (Duke, 321).
Study Pool
While the study used a small pool of participants, Duke is careful to clearly frame the researchers efforts to identify "qualified" participants. The panel included top executives from global agencies as well as two international consultants. It also included experts in new media who were middle management as well as some junior practitioners. In addition, most of the panel participants blog. "A 2007 study concluded that practitioners who blog thought they possessed more expertise than those who do not blog," (Duke, 322).
The research questions in the three questionnaires focused on "two specific topics: (1) how blogs are changing the practice of public relations, and (2) educating future practitioners so that they can succeed in the blogosphere," (Duke, 323).
Conclusions of the Study
Result of topic (1) (How Blogs are Changing the Practice of Public Relations):
- Blogs have expanded the communication channels in which public relations practitioners operate. It has allowed practitioners to to engage with new publics to include "citizen journalists". This has forced practitioners to rethink how they announce information and to whom it is announced. Other public relations communication devices are mostly single directional communication tools and the proliferation of the blog now allows target publics to join the discourse. This paradigm shift, in my opinion, has moved us far beyond traditional gatekeepers to a system where each member of the PR practitioners target groups has the potential to become "key-holders" and shapers of the conversation.
- PR bloggers must also learn the art of "blogger relations" as they have mastered other techniques like media relations.
- Journalists are increasingly beginning to serve in the capacity of traditional journalist as well as blogger and it is wise for practitioners to track these blogs and encourage their clients to join in the conversation.
- The available delivery vehicles have increased . . . "PR practitioners need to ensure their tactics enable a story to be told through multiple outlets including visual forms, such as online video, narrated slideshows, and photo galleries (all of which can be linked to or embedded in a journalist's blog)."
- May also change how practitioners conduct crisis communication.
Result of topic (2) (The Educating of Future Practitioners):
- Consensus among panelists established that it is essential for students to understand the blogoshphere and its power to impact PR practice. Students should begin to interact with blogs by learning to track online conversations and begin to comment on existing blogs.
- Students need to develop online communication skills.
- An executive in the study informed the study mediators that about 40% of its agency time is spent working with bloggers.
- Students need to learn how to research as well as track issues via the blogoshpere.
- Students need to learn how to blog ethically using many of the existing codes of ethics.
- The findings reveal expert consensus that establishes that students need to hone conversational skills based in the online sphere, have the ability to communicate with bloggers, and learn to use blogs as a means for monitoring issues. "However, panelists said that educators should not require students to blog because forced content skews the transparency of the blogosphere," (Shearlean, 317).
Overall Usefulness
This piece took a very specific area of public relations practice and used the Delphi study as well as a comprehensive literary review to provide a comprehensive look at the impact of the blogospher on public relations and the ways it has and will continue to shape it and provided a comprehensive road map for PR scholarship that will provide educators with direction for preparing students.
Literary Review
This journal referenced 77 sources in varying fields to include public relations, business management, as well as general research techniques. This vast bank of data served as a nice complement to the study results.
BNET, "BNET Business Dictionary" http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/delphi+technique.html n. pag. (accessed May 18, 2010).
Duke, Shearlean. "Educating Public Relations Students to Enter the Blogosphere: Results of a Delphi Study." Journalism & Mass Communications Educator, p.317 - 332, 16p Article, winter 2009.
Purdue OWL. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 10 May 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment