The purpose of this article is to illustrate the use and significance of PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) as a tool for communication research. Five operational steps are proposed to "PERT out" a communication research project: (1) Determine primary and secondary project tasks; ( 2 ) List the plan of action for accomplishing each task; ( 3 ) Pictorially represent the events and activities; (4) Calculate the time estimates for the activities; and (5) Adjust the PERT network to conform to the ongoing project. Advantages of PERT in planning communication research are described. These are that it allows the researcher to predict time sequences, to illustrate potential problems, to focus upon proper ultilization of resources, to provide status reports, to clarify design and statistical questions, to permit self-correction, and to allow for more accurate experimental replications.Early experimental research in the field of communication proceeded rather inefficiently because the necessary experimental tools for complex behavioral analysis were nonexistent. Thus, the one-variable-at-a-time research was commonplace. While early statistical tools and experimental designs were rather inefficient, researchers did gain a greater understanding of the complexities of human communication behavior. Recognizing that communication behavior was contingent upon the interaction of numerous variables, researchers concluded that valid experimental results from communication studies necessitated multiple variable research. Today a valid study of related communication behaviors utilizes the application of complex experimental designs and sophisticated statistical procedures. Research which entails the testing of numerous variable relationships has made the large
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