so too with judgemental assessments based on a formal review of an organization's program by a panel of outside experts.An example is the review teams fielded by the accrediting council on education in journalism and mass communications that assess various aspects of college or university communication program seeking professional accreditation. Another example is an evaluation based on a program that received an award through a competition sponsored by a professional Organization ,such as the silver anvil sponsor by the public relations society of america or the gold quill award of the international association of business communicators.
additionally,senior practitioners often draw on their experience to make informal judgments about program effectiveness
such informal research has its limitations,however. for one thing, informal assessments often are made by program managers , who are never disinterested and seldom im partial. For another their personal observations are often imprecise and arbitary, sometimes downright fickle. Granted, the anecdotes on which this feedback is base can provide much in sight into the success or failure of a program, but because informal research and gut feelings don't involve representative samples and standard measures they can't confirm the effectiveness of public relation activity.
another problem with judgmental assessment is that it often give undue emphasis to apparent creaticity and to the expenditure of energy and resources. Throughout this entire planning process you have put in a great deal of effort and energy. In doing so you have articulated a strategy and produced a ranfe of tactica. These, of course, are important, but they are not what you should be measuring. Rather, the evaluation phase should focus on your objectives at each of their three levels : a wareness, acceptance and action. Just like objectives, evaluational research should deal with the impact your program has mad on your various public