COMM 428DResearch & Analytics

3 credits · Communications · Penn State

This course covers online research methods for strategic communication, including web analytics, online surveys, online interviews, and content analysis. COMM 428D Research and Analytics (3) Increasingly, organizations are using the web as a vehicle for communicating with key audiences such as customers, shareholders, volunteers, donors, community members, and government entities. In this class students will be exposed to theories and practices in the areas of online research and analytics with a focus on understanding how customers perceive the organization, assessing the engagement with target audiences online, measuring the value of relationships that organizations initiate and build online, and tracking how web site visitors experience an organization's site. The course will expose students to tools for tracking and measuring online communication, and it will help students understand how to prioritize audiences and communication to maximize the effectiveness of measurement. Research methods taught in this class include web analytics, online surveys, online interviews, content analysis, and online focus groups. Gauging the impact of online communication helps organizations engage in more efficient and effective communication practices. Practitioners in strategic communication need to understand how to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of their communication in this medium. This course will prepare students to conduct online research in practice.