Let's Talk About...

Once again, I will be focusing on my peers' blogs and what they have been focusing on discussing with their readers.  I enjoy doing this because it gives me an opportunity to indulge in their feelings about different types of PR and what is on their mind. As I sit back and explore my peers' thoughts, I would like to present their ideas to you so you can think critically about different insights others have, as opposed to mine.

I will start with Alexis' blog that mainly focuses on Fashion PR and the fashion industry in general.  In her blog on qualitative research, she discusses a company (Avon) that conducted a focus group to determine what the make up habits were of Hispanic women in a specific area (Tallahassee, Florida.) The results of this focus group compared the habits of Hispanic women to those of other nationalities, specifying which tendencies they were most likely to have. I found this very interesting because the women who participated in this study were found to wear certain types of make up on a regular basis as opposed to Caucasians, African Americans, or Asians. However, as I have learned in class, focus groups are not always reliable when it comes to finding out information for companies or studies in general.  This because they contain a small group of people (usually about 6-12) and are performed in a small demographic.  Therefore, the information and insights gained from focus groups cannot necessarily be used towards conclusions based on the general public.

Another blog that caught my attention was Katerina's, which focused more on social media.  I was instantly drawn to to her blog because it relates similarly with the focus of my own blog.  In Katerina's most recent post, she discusses how qualitative research can be conducted using social networking websites, such as Facebook.  Social networking has becoming increasingly popular among the general population, including businesses (both new and old.)  Since almost everyone has a Facebook page, it is easy to access certain information about a person or organization in just the click of a button.  In Katerina's blog, she mentions how you can find out whether or not a celebrity is "liked" by fans by visiting their Discussion Board on Facebook.  People are able to leave comments about a person, stating whatever they feel (as long as it is Facebook appropriate,) as well as "like" posts and/or pictures of them.  This is one simple and newly available way to conduct qualitative research on a subject.  The only downfall is that not everyone in the PR industry is social media savvy.

Stay In The Loop.

Qualitative research takes place all the time in social media amongst celebrities and the media, and even the public.  This basically means that the mass media observes what people say and do.  In order to do so, the researcher must go to the people or the setting where the communication actually occurs.  This is done to gain insight into people's attitudes and behaviors, what they are motivated about, what their aspirations are, etc.  A lot of the time, qualitative research is used to inform business decisions and policy formation.

Business professionals can use social media to their advantage to find out directly what celebrities are saying about products or things in general.  It can also study what the general population thinks about a particular topic or celebrity.  What separates this from unobtrusive research is that they cannot just click on their social media page to find out information because they need to actually ask the person questions. In this circumstance, the celebrities would be asked to respond to general questions.  Then, the researcher would formulate additional questions to probe deeper into the celebrities' feelings and responses.

One way that qualitative research can be completed through social media would be through discussion boards or live video chats.  Since these two outlets make it possible to conduct rapid conversations and questionnaires between the researcher and the person being researched, they are very convenient to use.  Although it is much easier and probably more reliable to conduct this research in person, perhaps through a focus group, social media allows for the possibility to perform qualitative research via the Internet.

An example that I present you with about qualitative research and social media in the Entertainment industry is the Celebrity Loop Forum.  This website makes it possible for anyone to post questions or information pertaining to a certain celebrity, person, or media in the Entertainment industry.

Although, as I said previously, it is possible for researchers to conduct qualitative research with those they want to research through social media, it is probably better off sticking with up-close-and-personal research methods instead.

You Heard It Right Out of the Horse's Mouth!

This week's blog will primarily be focusing on the concept of Unobtrusive Research.  Wait, don't go anywhere just yet! I promise it won't be boring. "What exactly is 'unobtrusive research?'" you may (or may not) be asking yourself. Well, it is the finding out of information on your own without interfering with your subject's day-to-day activities.  This can be done in several ways, but when it comes to the social media world, things can either go extremely well or extremely wrong.


First -- You must find out if your source is credible or not. Since you are dealing with the World Wide Web, almost anybody can write their opinion or a false statement about a particular topic. One way to figure out of the source is credible is to check the website (if it is followed by ".org," ".edu," or ".gov" could be a start.) Next, find out if the person writing about the information is a reputable company or society. You have to be sure that a random college student isn't just typing away about random information until her fingers are sore (just kidding -- but really.)


Second -- If the person whom you are researching has stated something on their own behalf, you can be sure that this is most likely very reliable information because it is written in black and white right in front of your very eyes!  With most celebrities in the entertainment industry, publicity is right there in social media for anyone to read and talk about.  Almost all celebrities have their own Twitter or Facebook account, so their followers or friends can check up on them and their daily activities.  This can come in handy when you are trying to research them, unobtrusively of course.


A plus about unobtrusive research is that it avoids any form of bias amongst the subject and the researcher.  Since the subject most likely isn't aware that they are being researched, they will speak open and honestly about a certain topic.  However, with social media, most celebrities are watching what they say anyway and avoid letting things slip that they might regret in the future. Once this information reaches the Internet, it stays there forever and they cannot take back what they said (or wrote).


One example in particular that I would like to share with you is a post from Teresa Giudice's Facebook page.  For those of you who may not be aware of who Teresa is: she is one of the women on the Real Housewives of New Jersey on the Bravo network.  Teresa is constantly updating her Twitter and Facebook with statuses about her day, what she is doing at the moment, and even pictures taken on the spot!  One of her most recent posts on Facebook let her friends know that she will be at a Food Bank charity event on a particular day, with a link for more information about the event.  Therefore, if any of her friends would like to know more about the event, if she will be there, or what exactly she thinks about charities and this event in particular, they can view her Facebook page and they can access her personal thoughts all within the click of a button!


Unobtrusive research is done almost on a regular basis by social media users without them even realizing that they are doing it -- whether amongst friends, followers, or celebrities.  If you are refreshing your page to see new updates and statuses, or even searching for a particular person to see what they are up to, you are conducting unobtrusive research.  It is especially easy to do when it comes to researching celebrities, because the likelihood of being able to get in touch with a particular celebrity in order to find out certain information is slim-to-none.