Evaluation in use: the practitioner view of effective evaluation

While the academic literature has paid much
attention to public relations evaluation over the
past decade (Baskin, Aronoff & Lattimore,
1997; Cutlip, Center & Broom, 2006; Dozier &
Repper, 1992; Walker, 1994; Watson, 2001),
many studies have suggested practitioner use of
evaluation methods remains limited (Gregory,
2001; Macnamara, 2002; Pieczka, 2000; Pohl
& Vandeventer, 2001; Walker, 1994; Watson,
1997). Although practitioners use both formal
and informal methods to evaluate their
effectiveness (Walker, 1994; Watson, 2001), it is
unclear how their reporting of public relations
success measures up to actual achievement of
organisational outcomes.