ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a particular potential to explore positioning theory through practice-based research using methods such as action research and practitioner-based inquiry, especially in terms of examining the subjective agency of the practitioner-as-researcher. It set out to investigate whether government agencies and other public sector organizations communication campaigns in Australia employed public relations positioning techniques in their quest to achieve public relations goals. One of the first methodological issues to be broached is what should be the research sample in public relations positioning analysis. A positioning analysis yields narratives that people or organizations use to position one another and themselves. The tools used to conduct an analysis of positioning in a public relations context are closely related to those used for conducting an analysis of meaning. It has also been used to assist in analyzing the identity work undertaken by public relations practitioners in the Russian context.
