UPDATED 12/5/09 – Scroll to end to see update. [Originally published on 9/2/09]

“Oh, no . . . you mean we have to work in GROUPS in this class?” Though my PR Research students didn’t lament this out loud, I wondered how many of them dreaded the thought of ever working in a group project in [...]

PRCA 4330 Students
For your final exam in Public Relations Research, we’ll do something a little non-traditional. Create a list of the five most important things that public relations students need to know about conducting research, and explain why these things are important. Be sure to touch on a variety of the topics we covered in [...]

For Prof. Nixon’s PRCA 4330 Public Relations Research Class:
This assignment gives you an opportunity to learn how to monitor blog and other social media content in a way that provides similar insight offered by more traditional environmental scanning methods.
Many people will discuss your client or organization and its products/services on their own Web sites or [...]

In today’s PRCA 4330 (PR Research) class, the instructor PC didn’t seem to have the correct version of Flash to show this video. It’s a fascinating talk where “Oxford mathematician Peter Donnelly reveals the common mistakes humans make in interpreting statistics — and the devastating impact these errors can have on the outcome of criminal [...]

“Dan Saffer at the sixth annual IIT Design Research Conference, held September 21-22, 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Chicago. ABSTRACT: How to Lie with Design Research: Same Data, Different Findings “There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Thus said Mark Twain. Should we add “Research Findings” to the [...]

Statistics can scare even the bravest PRCA 4330 student . . . so let’s look on the lighter side. Using your best search skills, find one or more funny cartoons (or YouTube videos) on the topic of statistics or math.
Here’s one of my favorites, from the PhD (Piled Higher & Deeper) comic strip:

Reply with a [...]

Students in my PRCA 4330 class asked for more details on the format for their Public Relations Research Projects that they are completing for Georgia Southern University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching.
Cover Page

Client name & logo (if available)
Research team name (if you have one) and list of all members
Date

Table of Contents

Include your Level One headings [...]

One of the most useful books I purchased as part of my doctoral program at Capella University is Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (2nd Edition). Though I rely heavily on several of the chapters when embarking on a new research project, the one I come back to most often is Chapter 6: [...]

What would an ethical public relations researcher do?
In Monday’s PR Research class, we are discussing ethical concerns in public relations research. These slides will accompany our discussion.
Ethical Concerns In PR Research
View more presentations from Barbara Nixon.

For this semester’s PRCA 4330 (PR Research) class, students will complete the online training offered through Georgia Southern University’s Office of Research Services and Sponsored Programs. This training, created by the National Institutes of Health, consists of seven modules, four of which are followed by quizzes. The NIH suggests that this training takes approximately three [...]