Browsing by Author "Alikilic, Ozlem"

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Beyond Mainstream Paradigms: The Epistemological Gap in Turkish Public Relations Postgraduate Research
(Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 2025) Alikilic, Ozlem; Gokus, Busra
PurposeThis study aims to examine the extent to which graduate theses in the field of public relations in Türkiye engage with critical thinking and theory. By analyzing 664 master's and doctoral theses completed between 1984 and 2024, the research assesses the dominance of mainstream paradigms and the presence - or absence - of critical approaches. Highlighting the lack of epistemological diversity in postgraduate education, the study critiques the overemphasis on technical skills and the marginalization of ethics, social responsibility and critical reflection. Ultimately, it advocates for integrating critical theories into curricula to foster a more democratic and transformative public relations education.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a descriptive and exploratory qualitative design. It analyzes 664 public relations theses - 511 master's and 153 doctoral - completed in Türkiye between 1984 and 2024 using content analysis. Coding followed Ferguson's (1984; 2018) tripartite framework (introspective, practice and/or application and theory development) and incorporated subcategories from Sallot et al. (2003). Abstracts were the main data source; full texts were examined when theoretical grounding was insufficient. Six critical frameworks guided the identification of critical perspectives: (1) power relations and hegemony, (2) socio-political conditioning, (3) discursive legitimation, (4) methodological strategies, (5) public interest and realism and (6) critical cultural praxis.FindingsThe study reveals that 98% of public relations theses in Türkiye (1984-2024) are based on mainstream theories, with only 13 of 664 theses (1.96%) - eight master's and five doctoral - engaging with critical perspectives. Although greater critical depth is expected at the doctoral level, most critical theses were at the master's level. The majority of research emphasizes technical applications and managerial solutions, while critical dimensions - such as socio-political context, ethics, gender and power - are largely neglected. This suggests a structural marginalization of critical thinking in both academic production and pedagogical practices within public relations education in Türkiye.Originality/valueThis study represents the first comprehensive critical analysis of graduate theses in public relations education in Türkiye. It not only maps the numerical distribution of theses but also uncovers their theoretical orientations, pedagogical trends and epistemological gaps. By demonstrating the near absence of critical theories, the research highlights the urgent need for structural transformation in the field. It offers a strong rationale for developing pedagogical models centered on critical thinking and serves as a valuable reference for scholars, educators and curriculum developers aiming to reform public relations education toward more democratic and reflective practices.
E- Complaining: Analysis of Lodging Customers' e-Complaints from a Turkish Internet Website
(ATLANTIS PRESS, 2013) Ferika Ozer Sari; Ozlem Alikilic; Ferah Onat; Alikilic, Ozlem; Onat, Ferah; Sari, Ferika Ozer; L Zhang; X Li; J Chen
E-complaints are important feedback mechanisms to monitor and respond consumer complaints on a real time basis. Aim of this research is to analyze the content of e-complaints about Turkish lodging sector and to detect the resolution of them by the companies. In this regard the data obtained from one of the most popular Turkish e-complaint sites Sikayetvar.com. Content analysis method is used to classify complaints according to predetermined 15 problem categories and the responses of the hotels were tracked. Findings revealed that majority of e-complaints were related to the main service responsibilities of hotels such as food and beverage services guestrooms public areas and courtesy of employees.
Citation - WoS: 40
Citation - Scopus: 47
Social media adoption among Turkish public relations professionals: A survey of practitioners
(ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, 2012) Ozlem Alikilic; Umit Atabek; Alikilic, Ozlem; Atabek, Umit
Social media is emerging as an important public relations tool and empowers two way symmetrical communications with publics and stakeholders. PR professionals are confronted with the swift rise of social media that forces practitioners to pay due and timely attention. They are not only excited about utilizing these tools together with conventional media but are also excited about speaking directly to their publics and stakeholders without the involvement of any intermediaries. Through the perspective of UTAUT model this paper examines the social media adoption of PR professionals in Turkey and how they employ social media tools both internally and externally. We employed a web-based questionnaire to 126 PR professionals who are members of the Turkish Public Relations Association. Findings reveal that Turkish PR professionals highly appreciate the importance of social media in recent PR practice. However not all social media tools are equally adopted, e-mail is the most and virtual world applications are the least adopted social media. It is also found that in the future social networks are expected to be the most important social media while corporate web sites get the second and mobile phone (PDA) applications get the third rank. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The feminization and misrepresentation of public relations practitioners in Turkish tv dramas
(Routledge, 2022) Ozlem Alikilic; Alikilic, Ozlem
Among the roles scattered in the scenarios of the Turkish TV dramas PR practitioners are ascribed various roles and stereotyped personal traits which are mainly represented by the female gender. They are designed and scripted as similar stereotypes that are negative characters with similar roles. This paper examines how female PR professionals have been portrayed in Turkish TV dramas. Using the approach of media framing from the perspective of gendered profession this paper analyzes women in a variety of public relations roles in Turkish TV dramas produced between 1998 and 2020. A total of fifty-five PR female practitioners were identified in these fifty-one TV dramas. The results show that among the fifty-five (N = 55) PR practitioner characters the majority were women (N = 52) and that the general tone of most of the characters was negative profit-oriented and manipulative. Interestingly the study also notes that the few (N = 3) PR characters portrayed as male were all portrayed as gay. This reinforces the idea that PR is portrayed as a feminized field. Misleading media portrayals of PR practitioners can have a negative impact on how people view the profession. © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.