Metrics of News Audience Polarization: Same or Different?

IF 6.3 1区文学 Q1 COMMUNICATION

Communication Methods and Measures Pub Date : 2022-07-03 DOI:10.1080/19312458.2022.2085249

F. Mangold, Michael Scharkow

引用次数: 1

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although media and communication scholars have suggested various analytical methods for measuring and comparing news audience polarization across countries, we lack a systematic assessment of the metrics produced by these techniques. Using survey data from the 2016 Reuters Institute Digital News Report on news use in 26 countries, we address this gap through a resampling simulation experiment. Our simulation revealed a strong impact of analytical choices, which invited disparate interpretations in terms of how polarized news audiences are, how strongly audience polarization structurally varies between news environments, and how news audience polarization is distributed cross-nationally. Alternative choices led to profound differences in the compatibility, consistency, and validity of the empirical news audience polarization estimates. We conclude from these results that a more precise methodological understanding of news audience polarization metrics informs our capability to draw meaningful inferences from empirical work.

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新闻受众两极分化的度量:相同还是不同?

虽然媒体和传播学学者提出了各种分析方法来衡量和比较各国新闻受众的两极分化，但我们缺乏对这些技术产生的指标的系统评估。利用2016年路透社研究所数字新闻报告中关于26个国家新闻使用情况的调查数据，我们通过重新抽样模拟实验解决了这一差距。我们的模拟揭示了分析选择的强大影响，这在新闻受众极化程度、受众极化程度在不同新闻环境之间的结构变化程度以及新闻受众极化如何在跨国分布等方面引发了不同的解释。选择性选择导致实证新闻受众极化估计的兼容性、一致性和有效性存在深刻差异。我们从这些结果中得出结论，对新闻受众极化指标的更精确的方法论理解有助于我们从实证工作中得出有意义的推论。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Communication Methods and Measures COMMUNICATION-

CiteScore

21.10

自引率

1.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： Communication Methods and Measures aims to achieve several goals in the field of communication research. Firstly, it aims to bring attention to and showcase developments in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to communication scholars. This journal serves as a platform for researchers across the field to discuss and disseminate methodological tools and approaches. Additionally, Communication Methods and Measures seeks to improve research design and analysis practices by offering suggestions for improvement. It aims to introduce new methods of measurement that are valuable to communication scientists or enhance existing methods. The journal encourages submissions that focus on methods for enhancing research design and theory testing, employing both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Furthermore, the journal is open to articles devoted to exploring the epistemological aspects relevant to communication research methodologies. It welcomes well-written manuscripts that demonstrate the use of methods and articles that highlight the advantages of lesser-known or newer methods over those traditionally used in communication. In summary, Communication Methods and Measures strives to advance the field of communication research by showcasing and discussing innovative methodologies, improving research practices, and introducing new measurement methods.