After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
Describe how evaluation can be involved in every phase of a public relations program. Knowledge of how evaluation can serve as a guide throughout the program process provides practitioners a means of not only measuring the results of an action but also monitoring a program while it is underway. |
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Outline the means of actually evaluating a program. Knowledge of the various ways in which a program can be evaluated is essential if worth of an effort is to be established. |
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Delineate the measurement mistakes that can be made during evaluation. Knowledge of sources of measurement error arms practitioners with the tools to avoid them, thus ensuring more accurate information on which to determine program effectiveness. |
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Describe how closed-system evaluations are conducted as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Knowledge of how to evaluate the messages and events planned for a campaign, usually before they are implemented, and their effects on the intended public provides practitioners with an understanding of the most frequently used form of evaluation. |
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Describe how open-system evaluations are conducted as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Knowledge of how to evaluate campaigns while underway and how to incorporate factors outside the control of the program into determinations of campaign effectiveness affords practitioners the ability to expand evaluation to un intended and organizational effects. |