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Public Relations Review 29 (2003) 199214

I thought it would be more glamorous: preconceptionsand misconceptions among students in the public

relations principles course

Shannon A. Bowen

School of Communication, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-3002, USA

Received 20 May 2002; received in revised form 18 August 2002; accepted 15 October 2002

Abstract

Do public relations majors and students attracted to the major know what the discipline involves?

This research addresses their preconceptions as they begin their study and the misconceptions to which

they ascribe. Students often enter the basic course unaware of a management focus, shocked by the

level of strategic decision making required of practitioners, and surprised by the amount of researchknowledge and activity necessary in the field.

Data were collected at two universities over a two-year period. Two separate phases of qualitative

questionnaires of students in four principles courses were conducted, and three focus groups with these

students gave additional explanation. In conclusion, the public relations profession is doing a lax job of

communicating its core responsibilities and activities to new and potential university majors.

2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

What, exactly, is public relations? Grunig and Hunt defined public relations as the man-agement of communication between an organization and its publics.1 Others, such as Cutlip,Center, and Broom, placed more emphasis on the relationship aspect of the field: the man-agement function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between anorganization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends.2 However, these defini-tions of the discipline as a management function do not extend beyond the boundaries of ourfield.

Tel.: +1-713-743-3728; fax: +1-713-743-2876.

E-mail address: [email protected] (S.A. Bowen).

0363-8111/03/$ see front matter 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/S0363-8111(03)00012-2

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200 S.A. Bowen / Public Relations Review 29 (2003) 199214

Negative connotations of the field persist among those outside the discipline 3 or amongjournalists.4 Ideological confusion among publicity, marketing, advertising, integrated mar-keting communication, and propaganda, has further degraded understanding of the functionand purposes of public relations. This confusion impacts students who are attracted to themajor as well as those who disregard the major in favor of others, such as business or publicaffairs. This topic is worthy of study because the future of the public relations profession iseventually affected by the type and quality of students the discipline attracts.

2. Conceptualization

Public relations is a promising major for students because it affords ample career oppor-tunities across many industries. An annual study, published in 2000, found the number ofcollege students majoring in public relations or advertising reached an all-time high of 40,717,an enrollment that represents a 2.8% increase over the previous year.5 Nicholson found thatthe number of college graduates in public relations and advertising attained a record-high of12,439, up 3.1% from the past year. Although these numbers represent growth in public rela-tions, overall perceptions of the field and its practitioners remain negative. Students enroll inthe principles course generally holding several misconceptions, but how do they arrive at theseideas?

2.1. Persistent negative perceptions

Members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) 6 special committee on ter-minology found that public relations practitioners are using several new titles (e.g., corporatecommunications, investor relations, and corporate affairs) in efforts to separate themselvesfrom negative connotations surrounding the term public relations. The PRSA contingentargued: The babble of terms applied to what is generally referred to as public relations isa threat to the advancement of the field and the stature of the people in it . . . the field itself isconfused and unable to define its role.7

Spicer8 found that journalists maintain a negative attitude toward public relations and itspractitioners. Researching the term and the context in which it was used in the print media, he9

analyzed 84 examples containing the term public relations or PR. His analysis revealedseven different themesdistraction, disaster, challenge, hype, merely, war, or as schmooze. Heargued the most distressing aspect of the results was the consistent use of the term to suggestmanipulation of the truth to a dubious end.

Researchers10 who studied perceptions of public relations among journalists found a persis-tent, antagonistic relationship between the two fields. Furthermore, in a survey of newspapereditors, Kopenhaver found that 74% did not agree with the statement that public relations isa profession equal in status to journalism.11

2.2. Ideological tenets of the major

In a survey of 258 practitioners, Stacks et al.12 compared practitioner impressions of pub-lic relations education. The researchers found that practitioners top-ranked hiring criteria

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S.A. Bowen / Public Relations Review 29 (2003) 199214 201

included writing skills, ability to communicate publicly, interpersonal skills, and practical ex-perience. Respondents reported hiring challenges that included poor writing skills and a lack

of understanding of business practices.Stacks et al.13 argued that although educators and practitioners agreed in general about

how educational assessment should be conducted, there were significant differences in theagreement. Educators were more likely to favor evaluation as a measure of specific outcomes,whereas practitioners were found to heavily favor portfolio assessment. Despite this divergence,the researchers concluded thateducators and practitionersagreed on essential skills, knowledge,and concepts that should be and are taught in public relations programs.

Although both scholarship and practice agreed on the main criteria necessary for the major,this article argues that neither has done an adequate job of communicating that information to

majors and potential majors. As a discipline, we are attracting students who know little aboutthe function of public relations, hold preconceptions that are based on stereotypes, and lackknowledge of the intellectual requirements necessary for success in the majors foundationcourses.

Sorto14 found the primary reason students identified for pursuing this career was that theyliked working with people. Other reasons for choosing it included corporate image building,social opportunities, writing, and the growth of the public relations industry. One surprisingresult of the study was that many students believed it was a new discipline.15

The report of the Commission on Public Relations Education16 identified curriculum con-

tent for the undergraduate major. The topics proscribed included: theory, history, and prin-ciples of the field; ethics and law; research and measurement; planning and management;writing and production; tactical implementation; an internship; and, supporting coursework.17

However, that consensus has yet to reach outside the boundaries of the discipline to potentialmajors, new majors, and students in other disciplines who are well-equipped to excel in publicrelations.

Researchers have also argued for the academic inclusion of management, research, and the-ory in the public relations major. Van Leuven18 explicated four core competencies for majors:(a) ethics, (b) visual and interactive communication, (c) management, and (d) campaigns. He19

argued that these conceptual areas should be incorporated into the major: relationship building

and two-way communication processes, integrated marketing communication, communica-tion technologies and organizational communication, and management literature emphasizingdecision-making skills, strategic planning, leadership, and management theory.

Practitioners argued that majors should acquire management skills as students rather thanwaiting to acquire them on the job.20 Turk confirmed: . . . practitioners and managers think stu-dents would be better prepared for work in their organizations if they learned more while they arestill students about thebusinessaspects of these organizations andabout thenon-communicationaspects of their future public relations careers.21 Turk endorsed the idea that managementshould be included as a primary aspect of the major. She maintained that preparing students for

entry-level jobs was no longer a sufficient mission for educators and confirmed that programsmust prepare students for lifetime careers that almost certainly will offer the likelihood oropportunity of managerial involvement in addition to the practice of technical skills.22

Although the need for participation in management is an argument that pervades the peda-gogy of public relations, it is uncertain if the discussion has been translated into widespread

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curricular change.23 Therefore, the preconceptions many majors hold of public relations as anexclusively technical function could be perpetuated at static programs where the managementfunction is not embraced. Baskin averred:

The harsh reality is that many students have graduated as public relations majors with the

majority of their course work not well designed to prepare them for the business and organi-

zational world in which they are seeking jobs. While they may have received the training in

writing and other areas of communications needed to accomplish the technical function, they

lack the understanding of the managerial, organizational and environmental context in which

their skills must be productively applied.24

Sparks and Conwell25 conducted a survey to assess teaching methods and understand whichapproaches were preferred. The results showed that group projects supporting case studieswere the preferred method among educators for teaching public relations practice. Lecturewas the preferred format for lower level classes, and group or individual case studies scoredthe highest for teaching the practice to upper level students. These findings are relevant to thepedagogy and the recommendations of this research because management is often best taughtthrough case study. In business schools, the case study is a common approach to teaching amongboth undergraduate and Masters level courses. Therefore, given public relations emphasis onmanagement, a case-based approach is both preferred and efficacious.

Miller and Kernisky26 determined that it is imperative for potential majors to understand whatcharacteristics are inherent in the field. Understanding these characteristics would clarify many

ambiguities and explain practitioners responsibilities before students enter the discipline. Thisarticle illustrates that adequate communication about what is involved in the major is not takingplace, and reinforces why common preconceptions and misconceptions are problematic.

3. Methodology

During many semesters of teaching principles of public relations, the researcher noticedthe preconception among students that only technical skills would be studied in the basiccourse, leading to this exploration. Also intriguing were the sources of misconceptions, and

the extent to which attitudes had changed after a semester of study. How had students definedthe field coming into the major? What were the activities students thought comprised publicthe workbefore and after the principles course? Had new majors made an informed decisionin their choice of a public relations major?

This research was conducted over a two-year period at two large public universities in the USthat offered majors in public relations. Each program existed within a school of communicationthat also offered majors in journalism, broadcasting, rhetoric, or advertising. All participantsin this study were enrolled in the principles course, a junior-level course that served as aprerequisite to other public relations courses at both universities. At both schools the course

was limited to majors only but business majors and others were admitted as space allowed.Therefore, the responses were predominately from public relations majors, but included thecomments of a few marketing, management, journalism, or communication majors as noted.Normally, this was the first course students studied in the public major after completing corecourses in communication theory.

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Data were generated from students enrolled in four principles courses, two at each university.The qualitative questionnaire was used in a two-phased manner. In phase one, the instruments

were distributed to the course members on the first day of class before the syllabus was dis-tributed, to keep the definition of public relations on the syllabus from biasing the responses.Ninety-five usable phase one questionnaires were completed.

In phase two, the same students completed the same instrument for a second time at theend of the semester. Phase two instruments showed if they had digested the course contentand measured the extent of changed attitudes and understanding of public relations. Sixty-fourusable phase two questionnaires were returned, for a total of 159 completed instruments.

In both phases, students participated anonymously. Participants were compensated withextra credit added to the class participation portion of their grade. Responses were placed

by the students into a box and shuffled; participants signed a sheet verifying their participationfor extra credit. The students were thanked and debriefed on the purpose of the research andits preliminary findings.

Three focus groups were conducted outside of class with these students, who participated forextra credit. Two groups had 11 participants each, while one group had 12. A semi-structuredinterview guide27 was used; each group was asked the same questions, although time spentpursuing emerging ideas differed among the three groups.28 The participants were audio tapedwith their consent,29 and a graduate assistant transcribed the focus group audio tapes.

Qualitative questionnaire data were independently coded: first by an assistant and secondly

by the researcher. Intercoder reliability was established by discussion of disparate items andby arrival at a mutually agreed upon categorization. Analyses of the questionnaires and focusgroups were conducted through methods discussed by Denzin and Lincoln, Lincoln and Guba,Lindlof, Wolcott, Morgan, and Miles and Huberman.30 Further illustrations of the qualitativeresearch process as applied to public relations31 were used as exemplar material.

4. Findings

Findings from both the qualitative questionnaires and the focus groups yielded four areas of

common preconceptions and misconceptions among new or potential majors: negative percep-tions of the field, lack of management knowledge, lack of understanding about relationships,and lack of knowledge about research.

4.1. Negative perceptions of the field

I dont have the same feelings for it [public relations] now, I thought it would be more glamorous.

Focus group participant, public relations major

Most new majors believed that public relations involved little other than media relations and

special event planning. Although these tasks are a small and useful part of the larger discipline,students held the misconception that these activities comprised the majority of the work. Theywere unaware of strategic management, relationship building, and research that should comebefore the implementation of tactics. This view contributed to the misconception that publicrelations was an easy major lacking in both theory and substance.

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A typical preconception was that the paramount factor for success in public relations wasbeing good with people. Cutlip et al.,32 who studied the most frequent activities of public

relations work, stated that this stereotype was common and misled people into holding aconstrictedview of thefield. For example, when asked what thestudentsthought publicrelationswas before taking the principles course, one focus group participant majoring in public relationsstated: I thought it would be more fun, just working with people, but I found it to be muchmore stressful. Another offered, I thought it was mainly special events and party planning.One student considered changing majors: I dont like it anymore. I thought it would be moreplanning events, taking out clients, and social aspects.

Participants in this study were unaware of the managerial role of the practitioner, and of thewriting ability required for both technicians and managers. A response typifying this misper-

ception was given by a focus group member who said, I did not realize the journalism aspectin PR, its not just if you are a good people person, there are big writing responsibilities. Orthe statement of this student: I wasnt aware of all the writing thats involvedI didnt think itwould be part of the job. Many participants thought public relations was an enjoyable career,but one that offered no academic or professional challenge. For instance, one communicationmajor participating in a focus group argued:

I only took this class because I needed an elective in communicationI thought it would be

fun, but it is too hard with confusing models and all of this stuff to memorize. Nobody expects

public relations to be a hard class!

A final theme emerged among the general negative preconceptions. A majority (69 of 95, or73%) in phase one included negative terms in their definitions, as in this participants comment:PR is the art of selling a profile or image to gain approval or acceptance of that image. Ap-proximately half the students in phase one used the terms spin or image in describing thefunction of public relations. Marketing and advertising majors were particularly prone to usingthe word image when describing the function or activities of public relations, as in this exam-ple: PR creates and protects the image of a company (fifth year senior, marketing major, phaseone). Another student wrote, The function of PR is to put a positive spin on all things involvingthe company (senior political science major, phase one). Marketing and advertising majors

were also predisposed to defining public relations as a part of their own field, as in the state-ment PR does what advertising does but with no money (fifth year senior, media/advertisingmajor) or Public relations tries to open markets (senior marketing major, phase one).

When students were asked how they acquired their impressions of the field, most identifiedthe mass media as the source of these messages. One participant explained, Media can makepublic relations seem dirty, like its just networking, connections, they mainly focus on thenegative parts. Another said, The news media, TV, newspapers, movies, all of them makepublic relations look evil. Another participant commented, Its only in the media when some-thing goes wrong, you do not hear about the successes in public relations. These statements

confirmed the literature reviewed earlier in this article regarding mass medias negative rep-resentations. These misperceptions pervaded the ideas of the students in this study, includingthose who had already chosen public relations as a major and those considering doing so, aswell as those in communication or business taking the principles of public relations course forminor or elective credit.

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Another source of negative information was interpersonal communication, particularly frominfluentialsaround the students. For instance, one focus group participant said, Someadultstell

me that public relations is a bad major, that it is sugar-coating something bad. The perceptionsof others about the public relations major caused concern for some majors. One explained,Before this class, I worried that people thought it was an unethical major, that PR is justsugar-coating, manipulation . . . I thought people would think Im in a bad major. Anotherstudent explained, People describe PR in so many different ways that I feel there is notreally a clear understanding of the field. Too many people have different definitions and it getsmisrepresented. A public relations major in a focus group echoed this sentiment when hecontended:

Everyone tries to claim public relations as what they are doing but they call it something

different and its confusing. My marketing professor teaches us that it was marketing thatsaved Johnson and Johnson in the Tylenol crisis, not anything to do with PR. We got in this

huge argument over it in class.

The confusion these students expressed was the crux of the identity problem explored inthe literature review section of this research. PRSAs special commission on terminologyand other researchers33 have grappled with this issue to no clear resolution. The purposeand definition of the discipline remains factionalized among different approaches, such asrhetoric,34 persuasion,35 strategic management,36 and integrated marketing communication.37

The specialties within the field further add to the confusion, resulting in a morass of definitions

and terminology that this research confirms is intimidating to those outside of or new to thediscipline.

4.2. Lack of management knowledge

I never realized there was so much management involved in PR.


The reliance on the strategic management process for planning programs was a surpriseto most new and potential majors. Students in the principles course studied public relations

roles, the management function, and spent about a week on each of the strategic planning steps(research, strategic action planning, communication, evaluation). As shown in Table 1, beforethese topics were raised, only 6% of the students mentioned management or the equivalentin their definitions. At the end of the semester, in phase two, that number had increased to

Table 1

Qualitative questionnaire summary: defining public relations and the responsibilities or activities of practitioners

Item Phase one Phase two

Total participants (n = 159) 95 64Good understanding of public relations 7 (7.4%) 19 (29.7%)Mediocre understanding of public relations 19 (20.0%) 27 (42.2%)Poor understanding of public relations 69 (72.6%) 18 (28.1%)Knowledge of management function 6 (6.3%) 45 (70.3%)Lack of knowledge of management function 89 (93.7%) 19 (29.7%)

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70%. However, many participants said they were surprised that public relations even involvedmanagement. One major said, I thought we would learn to do press releases, press packets,

and media relations, and it turned out to be much more management and research. A studentin another focus group mirrored the sentiment: I thought public relations only dealt with pressagentry, was more hands on . . . like creating bulletins, press releases, and making peoplehappy. Another participant summed up the comments of many: Theres so much moreresearch, management, the whole business side of it than I thought.

A theme emerged in both the written comments and focus group data that students weresurprised by the amount of responsibility held in strategic decision making. Many studentswelcomed the study of management and the systematic process of managing public relations,including the implied responsibility in decision making, believing that it offered opportunities

for advancement in business that they had not realized before taking the principles course.One focus group participant explained, I feel better about PR now, it certainly feels like itis a more difficult and challenging field than I thought, but it offers advancement and moreresponsibility. Another participant said, Theres much more responsibility and stress, buttheres a wide variety of directions to go in the PR career, its not just image building. Onestudent commented, Im excited that it offers more of a challenge, more responsibility, that Ican be managing people and making big, important decisions.

Others believed that the emphasis on management made it too stressful, engaging a higherlevel of responsibility and decision making than they had planned for their careers. One stu-

dent argued, This is more stressful than I thought it would be, and has more responsibilitiesinvolved. Another student stated, PR is just too business oriented for me and now I realize itwas the wrong choice. One student maintained, Im disappointed . . . I know now that there isall this research and planning, I wanted to stay away from all that office work and now the fieldsounds more boring. Another participant reported similar feelings after taking the principlescourse: Before this class I didnt know, wasnt sure on it [public relations]. But I didnt likeit after the class, it isnt what I thought it was.

When the participants were probed on where they formed these ideas, one expounded: OnTV, the PR person is always pretty, well-dressed, usually a female, in front of everyone, inthe spotlight . . . it seems really glamorous and exciting. A junior marketing major wrote,

the PR person is always in front of the camera doing spin activities and communicatingwith the media (phase one). The majority of phase one responses mentioned spokespersonappearances as part of the daily work of a practitioner. By contrast, phase two contained amajority of statements which said that a practitioner does research, environmental scanning,planning, writing, negotiating with publics, or meeting with the dominant coalition on a dailybasis rather than enacting a spokesperson role.

Students were also unaware of the specialties within public relations that included man-agement, because most of them had regarded the field as media relations or publicity. Severalstudents in phase two or the focus groups pointed out the diverse nature of the discipline and

wrote or told of plans to go into financial public relations, medical public relations, non-profitpublic relations, issues management, internal public relations, or crisis management. One par-ticipant explained, This career offers many different industriescorporate, non-profit, etc. Itconfirmed my choice of major, I feel positive. Another exclaimed, You can do more thingsthroughout the field, I never realized you can take on so many roles! One public relations

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major stated, Its so much more exciting and the different aspects of PR learned in the classmakes it a more full major.

4.3. Lack of understanding about relationships

Public relations is the manipulation of the press in regards to a certain person, place, or event.

Senior journalism major, phase two

Student majors or those enrolled in the principles class had little or no prior knowledge ofrelationship maintenance, communication facilitation, problem solving and conflict resolution,or symmetrical communication. Most of the participants thought of public relations simply aspublicity or media relations in a one-way flow of communication from the organization topublics. One focus group participant, a major, admitted, I never thought of it as a two-wayprocess, I thought it was only one-way communication. The process of discovering truththrough mutual dialogue seemed to be an alien concept to many students who enrolled in theclass to learn spin-doctoring.

The two-way relationships maintained with publics were a crucial portion of the disciplinethat had gone unnoticed by potential majors and those who worked closely with practitioners inrelated fields. Many participants in phase one listed the media as the only public with whichpublic relations communicated, other than the mass public as mentioned in presenting a certainimage to the public (junior communication major, phase one). Students did not know before

selecting public relations as their major that practitioners communicated with all the diversestrategic publics surrounding an organization, as well as internal publics inside the boundary ofa company. One student explained, I didnt know we would be responsible for internal aspects,like preparing speeches for the CEO, I thought it was all external. Another public relationsmajor stated, Before this class, I had in mind it was mostly advertising and marketing, notinternal relations. Counseling to the organization and the internal responsibilities never enteredmy mind. The more visible function of media relations was all many students knew about thefield, such as the student who said, I did not think about internal aspects at all, just the mediarelations, the external things.

Majors and potential majors were unaware that listening to the concerns of publics, under-standing their positions and attitudes, and addressing those issues were integral parts of thepractice. A major said, I thought public relations was mainly creating an image and not asmuch listening to people. However, students were happy to learn of the responsibility formaintaining relationships with publics and seemed to grasp the vital role those relationshipsplayed in organizational survival, as well as the responsibility it brings to the function. A publicrelations senior wrote in phase two of the study:

Well, now I understand that PR has to manage good relationships by using research, research,

research, and getting background knowledge. Its not putting on a happy face and giving the

public what they want to hear. You can be responsible for educating the organization and its

publics.

One junior public relations major wrote in phase two, Listening to fellow employees, manage-ment, and the publics is a major part of public relations. Another junior major wrote in phasetwo, Public relations tries to create mutually beneficial relationships between an organization

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and its publics, preferably through two-way symmetrical communication and compromise onboth sides.

Although a majority of the students understood the concepts of symmetrical communicationand relationship maintenance by phase two of this study, there were still a number who werecriticalof theapproach and appearedto maintain their stereotypes of thediscipline.For instance,one junior public relations major wrote, It [public relations] tries to protect the image of anorganization. Another public relations junior wrote, PR is the manipulation and presentationof the truth, and one senior advertising major wrote, PR tries to make the company look asgood as possible. Many responses stated a belief that public relations does not openly discussdamaging or potentially problematic issues with publics.

Majors and students in the principles course did not expect to involve theory and models.

These students were more familiar with a seat-of-the-pants approach rather than an approachbased on social science and communication scholarship and theory. A focus group participantsaid, I did not realize there were many theoretical models. Another explained, A lot ofthis is new in this class . . . Knowledge of PR history, management, and theories. One majorconfirmed, I didnt realize the theories that went along with PR and didnt expect to coverthe theoretical models.

The basic failure to represent the discipline as a professional field with a codified body ofknowledge, including original research and theory, is a serious deficiency. This fault mightundermine the future of public relations by failing to draw more academic or theoretically

minded students.Not a single participant in phase one of the study mentioned ethical responsibilities, asignificant finding in itself. Before academic study of public relations, there appeared to be nocognizance that public relations must often act as the ethical conscience of an organization.The negative perceptions discussed above seemed to be uncountered by the industry, and theunfortunate but common misconception of public relations ethics as an oxymoron remainedprevalent among the participants in this research. Some students were delighted to learn thatthe discipline offered codes of ethics, means of ethical analysis, and afforded the opportunityto counsel the dominant coalition on ethical issues. One focus group participant commented,I did not know the ethical aspects and how much responsibility PR plays in ethics. A public

relations senior wrote in phase two that one of the main responsibilities of public relations wasnever forget to be ethical and honest. However, attention to ethical analysis, counsel, andissues was extremely low even among phase two participants and among focus group members.Only a few responses in phase two even mentioned ethics or honesty.

4.4. Lack of knowledge about research

I did not have any idea of the research part and the models, this is not what I expected.


A majority of students entered the principles course not knowing that research comprised alarge portion of the field both academically and professionally. They were surprised to learn thatmanagers spent a significant portion of time each day conducting formal or informal research,and many students were intimidated by the quantitative data often involved in the research

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process. For instance, I didnt know research and statistics were part of it or I might not havetaken this course, a sentiment that was echoed by a hand full of others students in phase two

of the study. One participant said, I was not aware of researching, environmental scanning,and having the knowledge within the industry to do that. One major explained her view thatresearch and creativity were mutually exclusive: I thought it would be more creative work,and emphasize creativity, not math. I dont know where to go with it now, I didnt realize therewas research involved.

Many students acknowledged the difficulty of learning the research material, but believe itadded value to the major and profession. A major in a focus group explained, Well, I neverthought it would be so much research . . . made me think of it in a more scientific way, not just[liberal] arts. A majority of the phase two responses mentioned research as a significant part

of the function. A major commented in a focus group:

I understand now why all of the research is important, but I had no idea it was a big part of PR.

There is so much to it . . . but I am glad that I took the first step and I have some idea of what

its all about. You have to, if you want to get into management.

Students also pointed out the important role that research played in enhancing the credibilityof the function within an organization. Many were aware of the pressure they would encounterfrom senior management to show bottom-line results and they saw conducting formativeand evaluative research as one way of illustrating their efficacy. Another student confirmed, Itmakes you feel more legitimate . . . its not just speaking to the public, it is research, planning,

and management.The fact that most of these students, a majority of whom were majors, were not aware

of the research component of the discipline, was a disturbing finding. Perhaps if researchknowledge were emphasized both academically and professionally, the major would attractmore analytically minded students. More awareness of the research function could preventthose with an aversion to statistics or data analysis from majoring in the field, making room inclasses for students who are more suited to this aspect of the discipline. Public relations targetsspecific messages to specific publics, but it seem we have failed to do that for our own major.It is possible that making majors and potential majors aware of the disciplines research focus

could result in graduates who have basic research knowledge and are, therefore, more soughtafter by employers.

5. Limitations and future study

This exploratory, qualitative study provides a beginning in understanding the mispercep-tions of those who study public relations. However, this study lacks a theoretical base. Quali-tative methodology was employed to explore the perceptions of principles of public relations

students, and with the knowledge generated here scholars can begin to apply appropriate the-oretical frameworks. The qualitative methods of focus groups and open-ended questionnaireswere particularly suited to this highly exploratory study. Hon stated, This path . . . results indetailed catalogs of participants own words, which then are used as data from which theorybegins to be created.38 Now that the four basic misconceptions of public relations among

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students have been identified, researchers can use those categories in compatible theoreticalapproaches. Jablins39 anticipatory socialization theory provides a fruitful starting point for a

theoretical explanation to the findings in this study through its explanation of the encounterand metamorphosis phases of organizational assimilation.

A limitation of this study is that it was generated from data garnered in what could be seenas an ideal principles course. The course was taught by a scholar holding a doctorate in publicrelations ratherthan a similar field, as is all too commonin todays understaffeduniversities.Thecourse was highly centered around the CEPR40 guidelines, including theory and management,rather than technical skill. It is unknown how representative or typical this principles courseis of other principles classes being taught across the nation. One recommendation for futurestudy would be a content analysis of principles course syllabi across the nation to compare

their content. It can be hypothesized that many principles courses might still focus on technicalskills rather than theory, particularly those housed in journalism programs. Therefore, cautionshould be exercised when seeking to apply these findings to other samples.

6. Conclusions

The amount of change between phase one and phase two in the study indicated that althoughthe students enrolled in the principles of public relations course held basic preconceptions

about the discipline and the responsibilities of a public relations practitioner, they overcamethe majority of those misconceptions by the end of the semester. However, these findingsshowed a clear lack of accurate knowledge and information among even those who had chosento major in public relations.

Public relations needs to make its close ties with business management and the strategicmanagement process known to majors and potential majors. Public relations needs to competedirectly with schools of businessparticularly marketing and management programsforthe students suited for a career in our discipline. We also need to compete with journalismprograms for strong writers and seek out students in business writing courses. Those with anaffinity for public affairs would also be well suited to a public relations major and career.

Finally, we should seek out the analytically oriented students found in quantitative researchmethods courses in sociology and psychology departments. We are not seeking to stealmajors from these disciplines, but to identify those who have the potential to end up in publicrelations after college and give them the academic training necessary to excel in that career.Grunig and Hunt41 observed that a large number of those working in public relations end up inthe profession inadvertently. It is time for the public relations discipline to stop relying on fateand to assertively recruit the students who will likely succeed in our major and profession.

As this research illustrates, a failing of public relations is that we have not made thoseoutside our boundaries aware of what responsibilities and functions the discipline involves.This

insular behavior allows the negative representations found in the mass media to be acceptedwithout question, and the infamous ethical lapses of some firms add to the perception thatpublic relations is manipulation. The public relations industry should be proactive and vocalin defining the field, including ethical standards, responsibility in decision making, counselingthe dominant coalition, and the management function.

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Academically, public relations does not define itself within the university as a major thatincludes management, research and analysis, strategic decision making, ethical counsel, and a

wide range of functions outside of publicity. The stereotype of public relations as hacks, flacks,and spin doctors42 seems to be perpetuated on the campuses of the very institutions that fundthe program. Academic departments housing public relations majors and the scholars teachingpublic relations should be proactive in educating students, administrators, and the campuscommunity about the vast and diverse responsibilities included in the field. For example, afact sheet for potential majors could explain the emphases in the coursework.

Are the misperceptions of the field affecting the disciplines future? This research foundthat students do not accurately know what they are deciding when they enroll in a publicrelations course or select it as their major. A logical conclusion from that finding is that we

should be targeting our communication more effectively toward those university students whowould excel in the discipline. Most students who participated in this study were surprised atthe occupational versatility of the field,43 the management responsibilities,44 the relationshipmaintenance function,45 and the research component. However, they saw that these discoverieswere positive, promised a larger span of industry choices, held career advancement possibilities,and had the potential for high-level decision making authority. A public relations major in afocus group explained:

Ifeelalotbetteraboutthemajornow. . . ifyoudoyourjobwellanddoithonestly,youcanmove

up in the PR field. There are a wide variety of employment opportunities and advancement,

and you can move up as far as you will work to go.Students believed they were learning valuable information that was part of a larger body of

credible, scholarly knowledge. Participants recognized that their intellectual growth as a resultof learning the heretofore unrecognized elements of the practice increased their knowledgeand was worth the effort. One major commented, I still feel positive about it, but I feel muchmore knowledgeable. Another offered, I do not regret the decision to major in it, now I knowthere are so many levels, more room for growth, now Im more knowledgeable about it.

Although some students felt negatively after the principles course due to the research,writing, or higher-than-expected level of responsibility, these were individuals who would have

probably left the profession when faced with the daily realities of public relations work. Mostof the majors in this study felt challenged and motivated by the discoveries of new functions andresponsibilities in the principles course. One major confirmed, I am happy to see it is not just aline function . . . that you can counsel the CEO, manage research and crises, come up with plansto deal with any possible issue. The advancement opportunities are huge. These factors makepublic relations a promising major, and if the discipline were to make known our ideologicalareas of inclusion we would benefit by attracting more students well-suited to the major, inaddition to countering many of the commonly held negative misconceptions of the field.

Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to Douglas J. Rentz, the graduate assistant who assisted in data collectionand analysis. I would also like to thank all of the students who participated in this study fortheir comments.

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