ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews a range of the most widely used qualitative methods of research that can be used for evaluation of public communication, as well as some mixed method approaches. The most common qualitative research method is interviewing. When undertaken qualitatively, interviews are usually referred to as in-depth interviews, or simply depth interviews. Focus groups are sometimes referred to as a form of interview involving small groups, usually of between eight and ten people, rather than one-on-one interaction with individual participants. Content analysis is widely used in public communication practices - particularly in public relations (PR) and corporate communication, where is it applied to media coverage to the extent that many refer to media content analysis as a specific research method. Quantitative content analysis relies primarily on counting and it focuses on manifest elements in content. Qualitative textual analysis pays close attention to characteristics.
