Interestingly, neither the public relations practitioner nor student is particularly focused on the role of research. Amplification of these areas should then be conducted throughout the course. Discussions with faculty who teach communication research methods classes suggest that it is not the numbers that bother students, rather it's what to do with those numbers that causes concern. Students need to understand this. My experience is that once they do, students begin to find ways of interpreting the data in a descriptive way.
Inferential analysis is both complex and beyond the scope of most introductory students.
They leave the inferential analyses to research groups or academics who consult. Obviously, then, a public relations student who understands at least the gist of descriptive data analysis will have a better focus on why research is necessary in later classes and when actually working as a practitioner. I find that students who understand the role of research in public relations do quite well in internships and are asked more often to stay on than those who do not. Evaluation research is an appropriate place to begin. Evaluation research offers quantitative support to the argument that the public relations campaign was effective.