Public relations, a communication science and a social science

The article begins with the concept of social science, and the role played by the leading scientific methods. It then deals with the concept of social relations, their epistemological complexity, and, principally, their interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. Different theories, models and paradigms are approached on the basis of the nature and role of PR, as a way of dealing with the characteristics of the different types of research and their evolution. The article ends with some observations on the research being made into communication sciences and the role of ethics involved in this.