EFFECTS OF SAFETY COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS; A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH EVIDENCE

AN INTENSIVE SEARCH OF PUBLISHED LITERATURE WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF MASS COMMUNICATION ON DRINKING/DRIVING IN PARTICULAR AND SAFETY IN GENERAL. RESULTS OF THAT SEARCH INDICATE THAT THERE HAS BEEN RELATIVELY LITTLE RESEARCH OF ANY KIND ON THE EFFECTS OF THE NUMEROUS CAMPAIGNS THAT HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED AND, DUE TO INADEQUATE RESEARCH DESIGN, ONE CANNOT BE CONFIDENT OF THE RESULTS OBTAINED IN MOST PUBLISHED STUDIES. THE PRINCIPAL FLAW IN CAMPAIGN EVALUATION STUDIES HAS BEEN THE RELIANCE ON BEFORE AND AFTER RESEARCH DESIGNS WITH NO CONTROL GROUP AND AN UNFOUNDED FAITH IN THE POWER OF POST HOC STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. IN MESSAGE PRE-TESTING, THE PRINCIPAL FLAW HAS BEEN UNREALISTIC LABORATORY ENVIRONMENTS AND THE USE OF VERBAL MEASURES OF EFFECT. /AUTHOR/