Surviving the PR Sequence: Research and Measurement

By Meghan McDonald

Research and Measurement in Advertising and Public Relations is a course designed for you to understand and practice how to use research to gain information about your publics and how to apply that information. You learn how to break down groups of people by their demographics and psychographics (don’t worry, you learn what both of those words mean too) and how to use that information to your advantage.

The title and description of this course may sound intimidating, but it really isn’t that bad, I promise! This course turned out to be one of my favorite courses I have taken so far just because of how many skills it taught me that I have transitioned into my other courses. In this course you will have to do a couple big projects that will require you to send out surveys and conduct questionnaires on whichever topic your professor has assigned to you. Try your best to get a topic on something you are remotely interested in because it will make you much more willing to do the work, trust me. I was lucky enough to be in a class where the professor made all of our projects about music streaming services so the information was actually relatable and interesting for me!

To succeed in this course:

• Learn to get along with your group partners. As a PR major you are going to have to work a lot in groups so you better learn now how to work best with your peers! Most of your assignments will be broken up into group projects and each of you will have to work together to complete the assignment.
• MAKE SURE you schedule your focus groups with plenty of time before the project is due. Sometimes after you conduct a focus group you realize that the attendees didn’t give you the information you needed so you’ll need to do another focus group entirely. So ABSOLUTELY give yourself time.
• Really listen to what your professor says in class. Nothing is worse than being in the middle of a focus group or finally typing up your findings and not knowing what any of the information means or how you can use it.

​Meghan McDonald is a junior public relations major and is PRSSA Kent's secretary. Contact her at mmcdon17@kent.edu​.

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