ABSTRACT

This project addresses the evolution of public relations research over the past decade by examining its two SSCI-indexed journals with methods that can reveal the influence of multiple categories of research clusters. Modeling the full text of all 1,293 published articles in Public Relations Review (PRR) and the Journal of Public Relations Research (JPRR) from 2010 to 2020 (7,400,685 words), we identified nine non-discrete clusters in public relations research. Using three computational methods – structural topic modeling, inter-cluster network analysis, and network simulation – we found that (1) the strategic management cluster emerged as the most central for the past decade, followed by public relations professionalism, digital media, crisis communication, internal communication, global public relations, rhetoric and philosophy, media relations, and critical studies, ranked by their proportions in the scholarship; (2) JPRR had greater emphasis on the strategic management cluster relative to PRR, which offered a more diverse representation; (3) little longitudinal change occurred throughout the decade, although internal communication gained traction and public relations professionalism and media relations lost ground as the decade progressed; and 4) the last ten years of public relations research did not see intersection among theoretical traditions from different clusters as much as expected, leaving opportunity for more inter-cluster knowledge production. Theoretical and practical implications for the public relations research community are discussed.

摘要

该项目通过使用可以揭示多个类别研究集群的影响的方法检查其两个 SSCI 索引期刊，解决了公共关系研究在过去十年中的演变。对Public Relations Review (PRR)和Journal of Public Relations Research (JPRR)上所有 1,293 篇发表文章的全文建模从 2010 年到 2020 年（7,400,685 个单词），我们确定了公共关系研究中的九个非离散集群。使用三种计算方法——结构主题建模、集群间网络分析和网络模拟——我们发现 (1) 战略管理集群在过去十年中成为最核心的集群，其次是公共关系专业化、数字媒体、危机沟通、内部传播、全球公共关系、修辞学和哲学、媒体关系和批判性研究，按其在奖学金中的比例排名；(2) JPRR相对于PRR更侧重于战略管理集群, 这提供了更多样化的表现形式；(3) 在这十年中几乎没有发生纵向变化，尽管随着十年的推进，内部沟通获得了牵引力，而公共关系的专业性和媒体关系却失去了基础；4）过去十年的公共关系研究并没有像预期的那样看到来自不同集群的理论传统之间的交叉，为更多的集群间知识生产留下了机会。讨论了公共关系研究界的理论和实践意义。