Introduction to PR Research #2: Ethics, Library Research & DatabasesBased on information from S. Zhou & W.D. Sloan (Eds.). (2011). “Research Methods in Communication”

Dr. LaRae M. Donnellan, APR, CPRCSchool of Journalism & Graphic CommunicationFlorida A&M UniversitySpring 2012

PRSA Code of Ethics• Advocacy• Honesty• Loyalty• Independence• Fairness• Expertise

(http://mediatechpr.com/2010/09/21/rt-prnewser-prsa-code-of-ethics-celebrates-10-years/)

Ethical Strategies• Deontological (DEE – ON – TOE – LOGICAL)• Actions are either right or wrong.• No lie is a good lie.• Ethical behavior must match a “higher law.”

• Teleological (TELL – EE – OH – LOGICAL)• Utilitarian approach• Predicting consequences and then

doing what is “best” for the most people.• Objective• Follows a “scientific” approach• Is adaptable to new data, ideas• Attempts to be unbiased

(http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2011/10/city_council_to_crash_smu_ethi.php)

Applying Ethical Strategies• CASE STUDY #1 (p. 40): Do you, as PR director, release

information about the closing of the site that disposes of your medical waste?

• CASE STUDY #2: Do you, as PR director, include a photograph in a recruitment brochure that has been altered to include people who were not in the original photo but who definitely are part of your target public?

(http://www.roncastle.com/photography-tennessee.htm

Applying Ethical Strategies• CASE STUDY #3 (pp. 42-43): • Evaluate “Dr. Evan Bowen’s” research question: “How many more

unfavorable stories do the news media publish and air about [CANDIDATE X] than about her opponents?”

• Evaluate Dr. Bowen’s research methodology: He codes the content of the news stories himself, nor does he define what he means by “favorable” or “unfavorable” stories.

• The media report the results of Bowen’s study. Is this ethical?

(http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/05/03/162589/rick-santorum-endorses-ryan-plan-end-medicare/

Applying Ethical Strategies• CASE STUDY #4 (pp. 44-45): • Carol Gilligan found that girls hide their unique understanding of

human relations to “protect themselves” from patriarchy and, thus, sabotage their chances to succeed, especially in science and math.

• The American Association of University Women (AAUW) commissioned a study in 1991 to prove that girls were being shortchanged in the classroom.

• Was this ethical?

(http://diverseeducation.com/article/14655/)

Applying Ethical Strategies• CASE STUDY #5 (p. 47):• You work for a PR agency that has been hired by a tobacco

company to promote sales. You are aware that there is scientific evidence linking smoking to cancer.

• You recommend creating a “grassroots” group titled “The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition” (TASSC) to advocate for “sound science,” arguing that the EPA yields to special interests.

• You argue that the same “junk science” used to discredit Alar, additives, etc., is now being used against tobacco.

• Is this ethical?

(http://stopsmokingaidstoday.com/2011/11/25/stop-smoking-aids-coupons/)

Applying Ethical Strategies• CASE STUDY #6• You work for a PR agency that has been hired by a natural gas

company to promote this fuel as a “better” alternative to oil and coal. You are aware that there is scientific evidence questioning the safety of fracking as a technique for extracting the gas.

• You recommend creating a “grassroots” group and an ad campaign to promote natural gas as a “clean fuel.”

• Is this ethical?

(http://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/oil-executive-calls-anti-fracking-movement-an-insurgency-applies-psy-ops/

Ethical Treatment

(http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/01/guatemala.syphilis.tuskegee/index.html)

• No coercion• Informed consent• No deception• Internal validity: Measuring what you say you are• External validity: Results are generalizable to the specific

public• Reliability: Results can be

replicated• IRB: Institutional Review

Board

Professional Obfuscators

(http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2007.114124)

• People (often wearing PR mantel) paid by industrialists to stop meddling by “do-gooders” such as “consumer advocates, government regulators, progressive politicians” (p. 46)• 1920s: lead• 1950s: chemical• 1960s: asbestos• 1970s: plastics & oil• 1980s & 1990s: tobacco• 1990s & 2000s: energy

Seven tobacco CEOs testify before Congress in 1994 that tobacco is not addictive.

Using Databases• Relational databases organize information using:• Fields (single piece of data, such as year)• Records (complete sets of fields)• File (tables of records)

• Queries (Structured Query Language, or SQL)

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question599.htm)

LName FName City Age Salary

Smith John 3 35 $280

Doe Jane 1 28 $325

Brown Scott 3 41 $265

Howard Shemp 4 48 $359

Taylor Tom 2 22 $250

Searches• Keywords• Boolean operator functions

(p. 72)

(http://www.automation-drive.com/what-is-boolean)

Scholarly Sources• Communication Journals (p. 60)• Google• Google Scholar• Google Alerts• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

(http://lunaticadesnuda.blogspot.com/2008/03/gatorate-tiger-tiger-woods-own-gatorade.html)