Qualitative Research Praxis in Corporate Public Relations
Qualitative research for corporations and public relations is for the advancement of the company. Research is also the basis for company decisions and policies. PR Research prioritises the beneficial interests of company development rather than science.
Research for corporate public relations is the spearhead of corporate image and crisis management. “What we mainly do in research for public relations is why it happened, what happened, and how to solve it,” said Zulfatun Mahmudah, Media and Public Communication of PT. Kaltim Prima Coal, in an expert Lecture on the Role of Research in Public Relations, on July 10, 2021. This expert lecture is one of the enrichments with practitioners in the Qualitative Research course.
In addition to tracking solutions, public relations must analyse the possible consequences of the solutions found. “Then if we take a certain solution, we have to see if it fits or not, and what the consequences are. From that context, what can corporations do, the output proposals are important,” said Zulfatun, who is also a doctoral student at UGM, Department Cultural and Media Studies.
Zulfatun also talked about the practice of applying research in daily public relations activities. “For example, there is a case of river pollution. So people will ask questions. Now, we as public relations need to do research,” he said.
While waiting for research to be carried out, public relations can provide temporary information. “It is true that this incident has occurred, but we will investigate it and conduct research. If it comes from us, we will be responsible,” said Zulfatun, recounting the experience and praxis of public relations when facing crises that hit corporate.
According to him, that is the function of PR. PR manages issues so that companies do not become victims of prolonged public bullying.
Puji Rianto, the lecturer of this course, also asked questions. “What should PR anticipate to monitor the issue like what? Do you use big data or what? We can predict and handle the mass media, but social media is very wild,” he asked Zulfatun.
Zulfatun said that this social media could be an attacker or a supporter. Even the big media sometimes don’t balance it. “What do we need to do? We have social media which is a medium whose delivery is faster than waiting for official media such as mass media,” he replied. “We also have a special division that handles media relations which we call media relations.”
The practise of public relations research in the company is not too critical in the use of theory. The theory is used as the basis for viewing in a practical context.
According to him, if the corporation took a team of research consultants from universities, it could be a different story. “It could be that the theory was used to provide a brief basis for explaining the conclusion’s position.”
However, transparency of interviews and methods is also essential to represent research findings in the community. The PR research can be used as a basis, and we have to see how the public perception, what steps need to be prepared.
“Essentially, research in the corporate world is problem solving oriented.”
