Over the past eight months, I’ve had many PR students contact me to ask for help or advice with their PR dissertation.

The majority of them seem to struggle to find a good topic for their dissertations, but quite a few also find it difficult to identify good resources to start with their research.

That’s why I thought it would be useful to share with you a list of books, blogs and resource banks I recommend for your research, topic brainstorm, literature review and, in general, to help you grow your knowledge in the field.

Some of these I’ve used for my own research – first on social media for PR, then on social media for sustainability. I've had some comments that some of these books might be a little outdated since the industry moves so fast, but I have purposefully included them because current graduates probably don't know how the industry used to be a few years back and it is essential that while doing their research they understand how exactly things have changed since then. 

I hope you find the list useful!

33 Resources for Your PR Dissertation:

Books:

1. Alison Theaker and Heather Yaxley: The Public Relations Handbook
2. Alison Theaker and Heather Yaxley: The Public Relations Strategic Toolkit: An Essential Guide to Successful Public Relations Practics
3. Anne Gregory and Paul Willis: Strategic Public Relations Leadership
4. Brian Solis: Engage, Revised and Updated: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web
5. Brian Solis: The End of Business As Usual: Rewire the Way You Work to Succeed in the Consumer Revolutio
6. Brian Solis: What's the Future of Business: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experience
7. Brian Solis and Deirde Breakenridge: Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR
8. CIPR: Chartered Public Relations: Lessons from Expert Practitioners
9. CIPR: Share This
10. CIPR: Share This Too
11. Dan Zarrella: The Science of Marketing: When to Tweet, What to Post, How to Blog, and Other Proven Strategies
12. David Meerman Scott: The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly
13. Deirdre Breakenridge: Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional
14. Eric Qualman: Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business
15. Gini Dietrich: Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age
16. Jim Lecinski: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth - ZMOT
17. Philip Sheldrake: The Business of Influence: Reframing Marketing and PR for the Digital Age
18. Rob Brown: Public Relations and the Social Web: How to Use Social Media and Web 2.0 in Communications
19. Robert Phillips: Trust Me, PR is Dead
20. Stephen Waddington and Steve Earl: Brand Anarchy: Managing Corporate Reputation
21. Stephen Waddington: Brand Vandals: Reputation Wreckers and How to Build Better Defences: Corporate Reputation Risk and Response

Blogs:

1. AllthingsIC
2. Brian Solis
3. Econsultancy
4. Spin Sucks
5. Shift Communications
6. State of Digital
7. Stephen Waddington

Resource banks:

1. Resources by Altimeter Group
2. Resources by the CIPR
3. Resources by comScore
4. Resources by McKinsey
5. Resources by State of Digital

Are there any other resources you think would fit the list?

Now you have the resources, but do you need a plan for your PR dissertation? Here’s a 10-step checklist to help you get started with your dissertation: