JMS 780 (Spring 2014)
ADVANCED THEORY IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
Instructor:
Hongmei Shen, Ph.D., APR
Class Meeting Place & Time: 1900-2140 (Tuesdays), HH-150
Office:
PSFA 340 (619-594-5120)
E-mail:
hshen@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: 13:00 – 14:30 (Tuesdays) and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Analysis and critique of contemporary public relations theory.
Development of scholarly works that explicate concepts or otherwise advance public
relations theory.
PREREQUISITES: Open to graduate students in the School of Journalism & Media
Studies that have completed JMS 600A and JMS 600B. JMS 595 is strongly
recommended. For graduate students with little familiarity with the theory and practice of
public relations, additional outside reading will be required.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
• to understand the current body of knowledge regarding the theory and practice of
public relations
• to master the tools to think about public relations theory from a normative and
positivist perspective
• to make a contribution to the body of knowledge through original theoretical
thinking and research
GRADING:
Construct Explication Memo
Theory Report Presentation
Theory Report
Participation
Points
25
15
50
10
GRADING SCALE:
A
93-100%
C70-72%
A90-92%
D+
68-69%
B+
88-89%
D
63-67%
B
83-87%
D60-62%
B80-82%
F
LESS THAN
C+
78-79%
60%
C
73-77%
Assignments:
All assignments must use Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, 1-inch
margin. APA Style (6th edition) should be followed.
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All assignments are due at the exact time and on the dates specified in the syllabus. Late
assignments receive an automatic zero.
CONSTRUCT EXPLICATION MEMO (25 pts):
You will pair up with another student to produce a construct explication memo (three
pages maximum). The memo will review literature relevant to the construct of your own
choosing. Details of the memo will be posted on Blackboard.
FINAL THEORY REPORT (50 pts):
You will self select yourself into a group of 4 to work on the final project. You will
produce a manuscript, suitable for presentation at an academic convention or submission
to a refereed journal. The report should be no longer than 20 pages (double spaced),
excluding tables (if any), figures (if any), and references. Details of the final report will
be posted on Blackboard.
THEORY REPORT PRESENTATION (15 pts):
In addition to the final theory report, students will discuss their project findings with the
class in a 20-minute presentation. All team members must be present for the presentation.
Your consulting group will report results collectively for a common grade.
Team Management: Students will elect a team leader, propose a team name, and
develop your own team contract. Your team contract should include the following
components: 1) Team name, 2) Names, phone numbers, and email addresses of each
member, 3) An overview of what team members expect to gain from the project, 4)
Regular group meeting times outside of class, absence policy, and provisions for
enforcement of absence policy, 5) An explanation for how the group will divide the work,
6) An explicit and concrete explanation of how group members who fail to meet the
standards set forth above will be dealt with by his/her fellow group members.
Peer Evaluation: Peer evaluations will count 10% of the total final project grade. Please
see the Peer Evaluation Form addendum (Posted on Blackboard) for specifics. The final
team peer evaluation will be conducted in class, face to face. Each team will provide
ONE final evaluation form.
PARTICIPATION (10 pts):
Regular attendance and participation are vital to your success in JMS 780. Your
participation is evaluated by the instructor each week, based on the following: 1) active
participation in class discussions, 2) answering questions posed by the instructor or
classmates, 3) raising questions about the readings. If you do not attend class or do not
talk at all, 50% of your weekly participation grade will be deducted.
When a student does not attend class, the absence is excused ONLY IF it was caused by
(1) religious observance, (2) participation in University activities at the request of
University authorities, (3) debilitating illness, or (4) compelling circumstances beyond
the student’s control. Students claiming excused absences are responsible for
demonstrating to the instructor that their failure to attend was on account of one of these
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four causes. Such demonstration shall take the form of a letter signed by a person in a
position to make an authoritative determination as to the validity of the cause of absence
claimed by the student. Letters related to any planned absences must be presented to the
instructor by the end of the second week of classes; letters related to any unplanned
absences must be presented to the instructor within one calendar week of the date of
absence, regardless of any holidays during that one-week period. The instructor reserves
the right to verify the content and authority of such letters.
CLASS POLICIES
 Classes should not be recorded unless special arrangements are made with the
instructor’s approval.

Cell phones should NOT be used in class, unless approved by instructor. Laptops
can only be used for note-taking purposes. Students engaging in activities not
related to note-taking, such as texting, IM, Facebooking, Twittering, and
emailing, will be denied further use of laptops. IN ADDITION, five points will
be deducted from your course grade for cell phones and laptop uses that disrupt
lecture or lab activities.

Professional behavior is expected in the classroom. Students should not engage in
distractive behaviors, such as sleeping, reading newspapers, moving about the
classroom, obstructing class with irrelevant questions, and disregarding class
activities.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Students are expected to behave honorably in an academic environment. Academic
dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and
plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Confirmation of such incidents can result in suspension
or expulsion from the University. Students who are uncertain as to what constitutes
academic dishonesty should consult the University’s Center for Student Rights and
Responsibilities (www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr) or check with the instructor. Specific definitions
for terms pertaining to academic dishonesty, as well as procedures for handling such
cases, are defined in the SDSU Senate Policy file, available from the Center for Student
Rights and Responsibilities. You are responsible for reading, understanding, and abiding
by this policy.
Basically, plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person’s
idea or product as one’s own. Students can avoid unintentional plagiarism by following
carefully accepted scholarly practices. Notes taken for papers and research projects
should accurately record sources of material to be cited, quoted, paraphrased, or
summarized, and papers should acknowledge these sources. The penalties for plagiarism
include a zero or a grade of “F” on the work in question, a grade of “F” in the course,
suspension, or expulsion.
POLICY ON INCOMPLETES
The grade of “incomplete” is given only to a student whose work in a course has been
qualitatively satisfactory when, because of illness or other circumstances beyond the
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student’s control, he/she has been unable to complete some small portion of course work.
In no case will an incomplete (I) be recorded for students who have not completed major
course assignments.
DOCUMENTED DISABILITIES
Students who need accommodation of their disabilities should contact me privately by the
second class period to discuss specific accommodations for which they have received
authorization. If you have a disability, but have not yet contacted Student Disability
Services, please do so before coming to see me during my office hours or by
appointment. Student Disability Services is located in Suite 3101 of the Calpulli Center
on Hardy Ave. (near Cox Arena), and their phone number is 619-594-6473. More
information is available at http://go.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/sds/.
AMENDMENTS AND ADDENDA
The instructor reserves the right to amend the course syllabus at any time during the
semester; students will be informed of the changes either in class or via email. For
example, topics listed in the syllabus may be covered on different days to accommodate
guest speakers, natural disasters, or class needs. Students who choose to remain enrolled
in this course after the regular schedule adjustment period indicate by their continued
enrollment that they have read and understood the syllabus for this course, and that they
accept and agree to abide by its procedures and policies.
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Semester Schedule
Week 1 (1-28): Introduction to Course
Begin formation of teams.
Week 2 (2-4): Theorizing and Ethics in Public Relations
Normative vs. positive theory. PRSA Code of Ethics.
READINGS:
http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/CodeEnglish/
Ethical Relativism; Aborted Debate
Week 3 (2-11): An Overview of Concept Explication
READINGS: Chaffee Part 1
Week 4 (2-18): Focal Concepts and Their Grounding in Literature
Identification of focal concepts in the public relations literature and the practice. The
role of research literature and trade publications in public relations theory. The
interplay of the research community and the practice in constructing theory and
conducting research. Finalize theory-building teams. Initial specification of your
team’s focal concept.
READINGS: Chaffee Part 2-4; Liberating the Domain
Week 5 (2-25): Levels of Definitions
Nominal definitions, meaning analysis, and empirical definitions. Specificity,
reification, and invariance of usage. Discuss example concepts and definitions.
READINGS: Chaffee Part 5-7
Week 6 (3-4): No Class. Instructor Presenting at International Public Relations
Research Conference.
Week 7 (3-11): Operationalizing a Concept (I)
The interplay between the conceptual and the operational. Active vs. passive
observation. Units of observation and sampling. Evaluating the quality of operational
definitions.
READINGS: Chaffee Part 8-9
Week 8 (3-18): Operationalizing a Concept (II)
Assessing the unidimensionality of a concept. Evaluating reliability and validity.
READINGS: Chaffee Part 10
Week 9 (3-25): Explication Example (Meet the Theorist: I)
READINGS: Chaffee Part 11
Week 10 (4-1): No class. Spring Recess.
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Week 11 (4-8): Explication Example (Meet the Theorist: II)
Week 12 (4-15): In-Class Theory-Building
Week 13 (4-22): Library Work on Theory Project
Week 14 (4-29): Theory Project Presentations
Peer evaluations of theory projects.
Week 15 (5-6): Final Theory Report submitted to Blackboard Assignment by noon.
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