Katie Warners Blog: A Different Perspective on Unobtusive Research

Katie Warners Blog: A Different Perspective on Unobtusive Research: "Last week in class we discussed unobtrusive research, as I wrote in my blog last week unobtrusive research is where the subject of your rese..."

A Different Perspective on Unobtusive Research

Last week in class we discussed unobtrusive research, as I wrote in my blog last week unobtrusive research is where the subject of your research is unaware of the research that is taking place.  This type of research I found to be useful in the case of Non-Profit corporations, it is crucial to research your target audiences to figure out what messages are the most effective.  When it comes to non-profits donations need to be given in order for the company to remain successful, therefore unobtrusive research can show you the true likes and dislikes of potential donors.  Although my blog is directed towards Non-Profit, I believe that it is important to read about other topics to gain more awareness on the topic of unobtrusive research.

A fellow classmate, Lisa Perez directed her blog towards celebrities.  In her blog about unobtrusive research she discussed the various types of unobtrusive research conducted on celebrities.  When conducting research on celebrities you have to follow their every move, the research collected is then distributed to various media outlets where we hear all about their lives.  These celebrities are sometimes unaware that they are being followed; one mishap and they are exposed to the entire world.  Lisa’s blog made me think about the ethics behind unobtrusive research.  The researcher conducting the research is invading the personal lives of not only celebrities but any unknowing participant. 

The topic of ethics is a large issue that goes along with unobtrusive research.  In another classmates blog Ashley Halyard talks about whether unobtrusive research is ethical or not.  She discusses how because you are not getting the participants permission it can be considered unethical, but the other side of the argument is that the information they are receiving is open to the public.  Both of these sides make unobtrusive research very difficult, you do not want to cross any lines but at the same time the research that you could receive is open to anyone. 

In my blog I had discussed how non-profits should use social media outlets, such as facebook to discover a new target audience.  They should follow people’s every move to discover what interests them, I had not thought of this to be unethical at first but after thinking more about ethics I realized that in a sense the non-profits would be manipulating their audience to invest in their company by observing facebook users patterns.  In my personal opinion even though you are conducting research that the participants do not know about, if they put themselves open to the public then their information and actions are open to whoever.  Unobtrusive research in the case of non-profits using social media outlets as ways to observe people is not unethical and should be allowed, if you are on a social page such as facebook then you should be aware that people will use your information for their personal benefit. 

Katie Warners Blog: Non-Profits, Facebook and Unobtrusive Research

Katie Warners Blog: Non-Profits, Facebook and Unobtrusive Research: "When conducting research it is important to distinguish a measure in which you are going to base your research off of. In Public Relations ..."

Non-Profits, Facebook and Unobtrusive Research

When conducting research it is important to distinguish a measure in which you are going to base your research off of.  In Public Relations Research class we have spent time discussing unobtrusive research which is the method of studying social behavior without affecting it.  The subject of your research is unaware of the research that is taking place.  This research increases the likelihood of a reliable result; because the subject is unaware that they are participating in research they do not act any differently than they would normally act.  This research is an effective way of studying behaviors, and can give you honest and accurate results if do it correctly.  .

Nonprofit corporations are companies funded by donations; they rely heavily on the amount of public's that are attracted to their message in order to remain successful.  Because they are constantly struggling over which public's to reach and how to effectively reach these public's any type of research is essential.  Nonprofit corporations need to attract their target audiences more so than any other company because they are constantly searching for ways to keep their company afloat.  An article titled “Social Media Success: Know the Frequent Users” by John Klein talks about the importance of social media, and how it is important to utilize the various media outlets to attract your target audience.  Research done showed that 150 million people in the U.S. have a Facebook page and 39 million people are frequent users who “use social media several times per day”; this is a form of social media that has reached a peak level of size and interest and according to John Klein it is critical that nonprofits invest time and energy in this medium.  This article shows non-profit organizations how important it is to research the most popular media outlet and use it to their advantage.  With 39 million people using Facebook multiple times a day, it is easy to put a message out there and get more views than you would have on a standard website dedicated to the organization. 

This article caught my attention because the research done to show how many people use Facebook, and how frequent the users update their profiles is an example of unobtrusive research.  The users of this media outlet are unaware of the research they are participating in.  But these unknowing participants are actually giving non-profits reasons to enter a new media outlet.  This unobtrusive research allows non-profits to witness the popularity of this social media, which allows them to adjust their tactics towards this medium. 

After relating non-profits, unobtrusive research, and social medias back to one another I saw how well they all work together.  Non-profits need unobtrusive research to discover new social medias that are becoming increasingly popular as the days go on.  It is essential for non-profits to expand their messages, and it is important for them to know how and where to expand these messages.  This article gave me a good perspective on the process in which non-profits must go through to gain awareness.  They have a much more difficult time remaining successful, and because of this struggle it is crucial that they participate in various research measures. 

Katie Warners Blog: Comments on Classmates Blogs

Katie Warners Blog: Comments on Classmates Blogs: "Research is essential in any business’s success, whether you are marketing a product, putting out a newsletter or dealing with crisis manage..."

Comments on Classmates Blogs

Research is essential in any business’s success, whether you are marketing a product, putting out a newsletter or dealing with crisis management, research is always important.  One of my fellow classmates Lisa Perez discussed the importance of research in her blog through marketing a product.  She used the proactive campaigns as a perfect example of how important research is when trying to get people to buy your product.  Proactive uses celebrities to endorse their product, but proactive also uses a variety of marketing strategies to gain interest.  The strategies used include a number of visuals, facts and examples of real people struggling with acne.  Lisa then related these marketing strategies back to the research side behind the campaign.  In order for proactive to be successful with their campaign they needed to research their target audience, and discover what attracts that particular demographic.  Without researching any of this before their campaign they might not have been as successful with the selling of their product.  Lisa’s blog showed me the importance of research, and how even though you may not notice it, research is a valuable aspect in marketing all products.  I enjoyed reading Lisa’s blog, she used a real campaign to show the importance of research which gave me a better insight into the marketing world, and allowed me to see research in a different way.

The next blog that I read was Kaitlyn Lovett’s.  Kaitlyn talked about the importance of research when pertaining to crisis management.  She used a school shooting as an example of crisis management where research plays an important role.  She touched on a side of research that I had never thought about prior to reading her blog, she mentions how in the case of a school shooting you must find out information about the shooter, were there behavioral issues, how can it be prevented in the future and so on.  It had never occurred to me that a school shooting would require research, but now I see the importance of finding out as much as you can so the situation would never be repeated.  If you are going into the public relations field it is important to know how to handle a crisis, and a considerable amount of research needs to be done before and after a crisis in order to prepare yourself in case of a crisis, and to prevent a crisis from happening again. 

Research is a crucial part of public relations.  Even though we may not notice the impact of research in situations such as marketing a product or dealing with a crisis, research has a very strong impact on both situations.  Reading both of these blogs gave me a better understanding of the strong impact of research; they were well written blogs and I enjoyed reading and learning from both.

Katie Warners Blog: The Importance of Research in Non-Profit

Katie Warners Blog: The Importance of Research in Non-Profit: "To perform successful research it is important to have a research plan. A research plan begins with having an objective or a goal and then ..."