This document provides an overview of research techniques used in public relations. It discusses why research is important for public relations practitioners to understand audiences, pretest messages and materials, and evaluate campaign results. Both informal and formal research methods are covered. Informal methods include preliminary research techniques like analyzing records, interviews, committees and focus groups. Formal methods include surveys, content analysis, and experiments. The document emphasizes that survey research is the most commonly used formal technique in public relations. It also discusses sampling, research terms, and outsourcing research. The goal of research is to help practitioners monitor environments, identify trends, measure effectiveness and enhance future efforts.