Hollister, Peter, and Patricia Trubow. Your Organization is Ready for a Communication Effectiveness Study — Are You? Public Relations Tactics, July 2005.

A well conceived communications audit, or communications effectiveness study is an effective management tool that helps target messages, media and audiences and improves the effectiveness of communications efforts.

Elsasser, John. Doing a Communications Audit, Public Relations Tactics, December 1994.

Dr. Walter K. Lindenmann describes the three goals of a communications audit and offers nine scenarios when it should be used.

Fogelman-Beyer, Alisa. Are You Ready for a Communications Audit? Public Relations Tactics, August 1999.

Explains what a communications audit is, why you should consider conducting one, and the top ten elements it should cover.

Hart, Rebecca. Measuring Success: How to Sell a Communications Audit to Internal Audiences, Public Relations Tactics, April 2006.

Communications research programs often start with a communications audit, a method of research that determines how your core audiences perceive your organization. With this type of high-quality research, you’ll get strategic information to take your communications program to the next level. But the challenge is: How do you sell the audit (or any other research initiative) to upper management when you’re already fighting for every implementation dollar you can get your hands on?