After the authors wrote the first edition, they became leaders in the movement toward standards and best practices in public relations research. This led to a change in both title (adding the word ?€?professional?€?) and how research should be approached. Contemporary public relations practice has developed over the last several decades from the weak third sister in marketing, advertising, and public relations mix to a full player. To help you keep up to speed with the exciting changes and developments of publications, this book has been updated to provide you with the necessary understanding of the problems and promises of public relations research, measurement, and evaluation. As a public relations professional, this book will guide you through the effective use of methods, measures, and evaluation in providing grounded evidence of the success (or failure) of public relations campaigns. This second edition takes a best practices approach--one that focuses on choosing the appropriate method and rigorously applying that method to collect the data that best answers the objectives of the research. It also presents an approach to public relations that emphasizes the professions impact on the clients return on investment in the public relations function.