A bibliographic study of public relations in Spanish media and communication journals, 2000–2012

• Only 4.6% of articles published by Spanish journals address public relations.
• Research on public relations is characterised by a diversity of authors and topics.
• The term “public relations” in articles on this subject is not widely used.
• Specific public relations impact journal is required to make discipline more visible.

This study analyses the trends and visibility of research on public relations in the most relevant Spanish media and communication journals between the years 2000 and 2012. Bibliometrics and content analysis are used to show the reduced presence of articles on public relations in these publications. A trend towards gender parity in authorship is confirmed in the sample, as well as a plurality of universities and a variety of research themes. The study also proves preference for generic questions rather than for specialised topics. Another finding is that almost one fourth of the specific articles on this discipline do not contain the term “public relations”. This can hint towards the need to have a specific high-impact publication on public relations to bring together and provide visibility to the contributions of researchers in this field.