Studies in communication sciences 

About: Studies in communication sciences is an academic journal published by Elsevier BV. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Journalism & Communication studies. It has an ISSN identifier of 1424-4896. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 312 publications have been published receiving 1847 citations. The journal is also known as: SComS & Studi di scienze della comunicazione.

What is Visual Communication? Past and Future of an Emerging Field of Communication Research

Abstract: In the Anglo-American context visual communication has been on the academic radar since the late 1970s. In continental Europe the diversity of disciplines and the heterogeneity of national and cultural traditions in researching the visual have hampered a unified approach towards this expanding field of research that is in and by itself transdisciplinary in nature. This overarching quality of visual communication research is both the beauty and the beast. The "beauty" is the methodological as well as topical width of the scope that can be covered by visual research. The "beast" is that this disciplinary heterogeneity has, up to this point, deprived visual communication from a wider institutional impact in terms of curricula and third-party funding. In its current state, visual communication as organized in the International Communication Association (ICA), can be described as an expanding subfield of communication science that uses social scientific methods to explain the production, distribution and reception processes, but also the meanings of mass-mediated visuals in contemporary social, cultural, economic and political contexts. In this article a particular emphasis is placed on traditions and methods from the German-language.

Spiral of silence online: How online communication affects opinion climate perception and opinion expression regarding the climate change debate

Abstract: This study tests the spiral of silence theory under conditions of online communication. It is argued that a preference for user-generated content may result in different perceptions of the opinion climate than a preference for mass media. This may also affect willingness to speak out in public. This study tested the effects of selective exposure to information regarding climate change in Germany. The individual media diets were derived from online diaries and content analyses. The findings show no support for the spiral of silence theory. Individuals who see themselves in the minority were even more likely to express their opinions.

A review of experimental research on the relative persuasiveness of anecdotal, statistical, causal, and expert evidence

Abstract: Persuasive texts in which evidence is employed to support claims are more effective than texts without evidence. Text writers may use different types of evidence, such as anecdotal, statistical, causal, and expert evidence. Over the years, a number of experimental studies have investigated the persuasive effectiveness of these evidence types. In these experiments, various definitions and operationalisations of evidence and evidence types have been used. As a consequence, there is no clear picture of which type of evidence is the most persuasive. This review analyses fourteen experiments on the relative persuasiveness of evidence types. Results show that statistical and causal evidence are more persuasive than anecdotal evidence.

Digital astroturfing in politics: Definition, typology, and countermeasures

Abstract: In recent years, several instances of political actors who created fake grassroots activity on the Internet have been uncovered. We propose to call such fake online grassroots activity digital astroturfing, and we define it as a form of manufactured, deceptive and strategic top-down activity on the Internet initiated by political actors that mimics bottom-up activity by autonomous individuals. The goal of this paper is to lay out a conceptual map of the phenomenon of digital astroturfing in politics. To that end, we introduce, first, a typology of digital astroturfing according to three dimensions (target, actor type, goals), and, second, the concept of digital astroturfing repertoires, the possible combinations of tools, venues and actions used in digital astroturfing efforts. Furthermore, we explore possible restrictive and incentivizing countermeasures against digital astroturfing. Finally, we discuss prospects for future research: Even though empirical research on digital astroturfing is difficult, it is neither impossible nor futile.

Towards a Definition of Communication Context. Foundations of an Interdisciplinary Approach to Communication

Abstract: The paper addresses the notion of communication context as a key for understanding communication sciences as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry. A semantic analysis of the word context allows us to grasp the double relationship between the context and the contextualized: the context sets the constitutive conditions of the contextualised and at the same time the context is affected (changed) by the contextualized. From the language sciences it emerges a twofold view of communication context as having both an interpretive and a constitutive dimension.