Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap - Volume 45, Issue 3, 2017

In 2017 was de eer aan Tilburg University om het Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap te organiseren. Op 26 en 27 januari vond deze zeer geslaagde editie van het Etmaal plaats met het thema ‘Innovative Methods in Communication Research’. De enthousiaste organisatie was in handen van communicatiewetenschappers van het Tilburg Center for Cognition and Communication (TiCC), werkzaam binnen de afdeling Communicatie- en Informatiewetenschappen (CIW). Binnen TiCC bestuderen internationale wetenschappers vanuit diverse disciplines, waaronder Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cognitiewetenschap, Communicatiewetenschap, Computertechnologie, Taalwetenschap, Neurowetenschappen en Psychologie, de diverse kanten van de menselijke communicatie, zowel verbaal, non-verbaal, als via digitale media.

Samenvatting

Dit artikel onderzoekt het journalistieke veld vanuit een genderperspectief. Aan de hand van surveyonderzoek en diepte-interviews wordt een antwoord geformuleerd op drie onderzoeksvragen: (1) In welke mate wordt de Belgische journalistiek gekenmerkt door traditionele genderbreuklijnen? (2) In welke mate zijn traditionele genderbreuklijnen geëvolueerd in een snel veranderde Vlaamse journalistieke werkomgeving? (3) In welke mate heeft digitalisering gezorgd voor het ontstaan van nieuwe genderbreuklijnen?

Samenvatting

Dit artikel belicht het gebruik van digitale tools voor kwalitatieve data-analyse (CAQDAS) binnen historisch communicatiewetenschappelijk onderzoek dat gebruik maakt van historische bronnen. Na de uiteenzetting van een concrete toepassing van CAQDAS verschaft het artikel ruimere reflecties over de voor- en nadelen van CAQDAS binnen communicatiehistorisch onderzoek, met inbegrip van onderzoekskwesties als efficiëntie, systematiek, transparantie en bronnenkritiek.

Samenvatting

In twee reactietijdenstudies beoordeelden participanten standpunt-argumentparen die al dan niet congruent waren in valentie (‘Hij is een goede tennisser’ gevolgd door ‘Hij heeft 8 van de 10 wedstrijden gewonnen’ versus ‘Hij heeft 2 van de 10 wedstrijden verloren’). In lijn met argumentatieve oriëntatie (Holleman & Pander Maat, 2009) tonen we aan dat congruente standpunt-argumentparen sneller worden verwerkt en vaker correct worden beoordeeld dan incongruente paren.

Samenvatting

Deze experimentele studie onderzocht middels een 2x2 between-subjects design de rol van congruentie binnen een traditioneel of creatiever medium. De bevindingen tonen dat een creatiever medium sterker de aandacht trekt, terwijl het traditionele medium gunstigere attitudes uitlokt. Bovendien is congruentie een moderator binnen dit proces, waarbij adverteerders bij een creatiever medium beter een congruente productplaatsing kunnen toepassen.

Samenvatting

Mobiele advergames worden steeds vaker ingezet om tieners te bereiken en te beïnvloeden. Deze studie laat zien dat de reclamewijsheid van tieners alleen geactiveerd wordt door een mobiele game met een bekend merk. In tegenstelling tot wat werd verwacht, leidt reclamewijsheidactivatie niet tot een negatievere maar juist tot een positievere merkattitude ten opzichte van het bekende merk onder tieners.

The rules of the game. The role of brand familiarity in mobile advergames

This study examined the role of brand familiarity on the susceptibility of adolescents in mobile advergames. Susceptibility was measured by considering brand attitude, brand recall, and persuasion knowledge activation. An experiment among adolescents age 13 to 18 (N = 81) showed that both familiar and unfamiliar brand placement did not affect brand attitudes directly, however did increase brand recall. Familiar brand placements showed a positive effect on persuasion knowledge activation, and subsequently a positive indirect effect on both brand attitude and brand recall. When the persuasive intent of a familiar brand placement was recognized, persuasion knowledge activation resulted in a higher brand attitude towards the familiar brand and a better recall of the brand. No effects on persuasion knowledge, nor an indirect effect on brand attitude or recall was found for the unfamiliar brand placement. These findings suggest that adolescents are highly susceptible to brand placement of familiar brands in advergames, especially when the persuasive intent is identified.

Keywords: advergames, adolescents, brand familiarity, persuasion knowledge, brand attitudes.

Hacking gender in journalism. A multi-method study on gender issues in the rapidly changing and digitalised field of news production

This article explores gender issues in a rapidly changing journalistic work environment. There are several traditional gender divides in the current journalistic landscape. First, women are still underrepresented in newsrooms. Second, journalism is horizontally and vertically segregated based on gender. The purpose of this article is to test the extent to which these traditional gender divides are present in Belgian (Flemish) journalism and whether recent developments in the media sector have had an impact on traditional barriers for women in journalism or whether they have created new gender divides. The article addresses three central research questions: (1) To what extent is Belgian journalism characterised by traditional gender divides? (2) To what extent have traditional gender divides evolved in a changing journalistic work environment in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium? (3) To what extent has digitalisation contributed to new gender divides in journalism? Four studies based on surveys and in-depth interviews contribute to answering different aspects of the central research questions.

Keywords: news production, gender segregation, digitalization, working conditions, multi-method

Digital tools for qualitative data analysis in historical communication research: application and reflections

This article reflects upon the opportunities and limitations of digital tools for qualitative data analysis, or ‘computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software’ (CAQDAS), in historical communication research. This is done by drawing upon the research design of a finished study. The article emphasizes the importance of collecting a diversity of sources, methodological triangulation and the complementarity of quantitative and qualitative data. Next, the article argues for a transparent explication of the use of CAQDAS by demonstrating how NVivo was used for coding and analyzing a large amount of archival documentation. This results in a discussion about the opportunities CAQDAS offers in terms of time efficiency and consistency for the analysis of the data. At the same time, researchers should be cautious about possible limitations to the application of CAQDAS for historical communication research, particularly in terms of automatic coding and historical source criticism.

Keywords: CAQDAS, qualitative research, digital tools, historical communication research, NVivo

Good tennis players do not lose matches; Two reaction time studies on the effect of attribute framing in stance-argument pairs

We investigated the hypothesis that congruent argument-stance sentence pairs (good-win and bad-lose) are easier to process than incongruent pairs (good-lose and bad-win) in two studies measuring reaction times. The principle of Argumentative Orientation (Holleman & Pander Maat, 2009) predicts that writers adjust their choice of words to the conclusion they want to draw, and that readers are sensitive to this profile choice. An argument which is framed positively (e.g. ‘Djokovic won 8 of his last 10 games’) ties in with a positive evaluative stance (‘Djokovic is a good tennis player’), while a negatively framed argument (‘Djokovic lost 2 of his last 10 games’) might be used to defend a negative opinion (‘Djokovic is a bad tennis player’). If this is the case, this should be reflected in sentence processing. In line with AO, participants made faster and more accurate judgments of congruent pairs than incongruent pairs.

Keywords: attribute framing, Argumentative Orientation, sentence processing, reaction times

Unexpected advertising media and the role of product congruence

Creative media channels offer opportunities to stand out and attract attention in times where consumers are overwhelmed by persuasive messages. There is, however, little research on the impact of congruence or incongruence between the advertised product and the medium on attitudes (towards the ad and product), buying intentions and attention. Therefore, this study assessed the comparative effectiveness of type of media (traditional versus creative) and an (in)congruent product placement by means of a 2x2 experimental between-subjects design. Results of 222 adults aged 18 to 30 showed that a creative medium attracts significantly more attention, but that a traditional medium evokes the most positive attitudes. Furthermore, results showed that only for a creative medium, congruence between medium and product is an important condition to generate more positive effects on the outcome variables. This suggests that (in)congruence is an important moderating factor in the process of creative ad placement.

Keywords: creative media choice, congruence, incongruence, schema incongruity theory, effective advertising strategies.