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Studies in Communication and Media

• Ethical Challenges in Contemporary Quantitative Content Analysis

• Annemarie Wiedicke, TU Chemnitz, Institute for Media Research

• Abstract: Questions of validity and research ethics are closely linked, with content-analytic research being no exception. Nevertheless, in the past, quantitative content analysis has often been excluded from ethical discussions among communication scholars. Recently, however, there is an increasing discourse on the various ethical challenges arising from conducting quantitative content analysis in the digital age. Drawing from the four principles of ethical research (respect for a person's autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice), this paper seeks to present a systematic overview of the ethical challenges and potential methodological-ethical dilemmas arising throughout the process of contemporary content-analytic research. Where possible, according solutions are offered. As such, this paper contributes not only to the growing literature reflecting ethical aspects of quantitative communication research, but also to the current discourse on quality in contemporary quantitative content analysis.

• Link: https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2192-4007-2023-4-354/ethical-challenges-in-contemporary-quantitative-content-analysis-volume-12-2023-issue-4?page=1

Communication and Society 

• Chinese Patients' Trust In Physicians: Dynamics Between General and Particular Trust.

• Hongmei Li, Miami University, & Lu Tang, Texas A&M University

• Abstract: This paper studies patients' trust in physicians in China through the establishment of a theoretical model centered around the dynamic relationship between general trust and particular trust. The model accounts for how macro-level factors (such as medical reforms, health consumerism, and the information environment) and individual-level factors (such as patients' attributes, encounters with physicians, and the nature of illnesses) contribute to patients' trust in physicians. Data collected through a multi-year research project were analyzed through the phronetic interactive approach. We found that trust in physicians is a dynamic process, with general and particular trust mutually influencing each other, and that both types of trust comprise perceived competency and perceived ethics. We also found that people in small towns and big cities trusted physicians differently due to their different socioeconomic status and access to medical resources. Furthermore, we identified the strategies that physicians and patients used to manage the lack of trust, demonstrating that physicians and patients could still function even when there was insufficient trust. Our research implies that trust can be regained through effective doctor-patient communication and well-regulated institutional arrangements.

• Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374944881_Chinese_Patients%27_Trust_in_Physicians_Dynamics_Between_General_and_Particular_Trust

Cuadernos.Info 

• Ibero-American Fact-checkers On Instagram: Analysis Of The Posts With The Most Successful Interaction. 

• María Isabel Míguez-González, Alberto Dafonte-Gómez, Javier Abuín-Penas Universidade de Vigo, Pontevedra, España 

• Abstract: Social media are one of the tools most used by fact-checking organizations to disseminate their verifications. Instagram has gained prominence and relevance in recent years, but studies on the activity of verifiers on this network have not. This research seeks to characterize the activity of Ibero-American fact-checkers on Instagram based on the content that has generated the highest interaction rate. We conducted a quantitative analysis of the 2021 posts by the fact-checkers belonging to the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) with the greatest interaction, with a resulting sample of 301 posts. The results show that fact-checkers maintained a fairly stable publication frequency throughout the year; considering the posts' intention, they published mainly fact-checks (72.8%) and, regarding the theme, political content (39.5%). As for the subject, posts on racism are the ones that obtain a better interaction ratio (12%) while in terms of format, the album reaches a substantially higher ratio than images or videos.

• Link: https://cuadernos.info/index.php/cdi/article/view/58031/50825-

Revue Française des Sciences de l'Information et de la Communication

• French Disney Adults' Emotional Investments and Identity Construction

• Hélène Breda, Université Sorbonne Paris Nor

• Abstract: This article, part of the field of fan studies, approaches the adult Disney fandom through the prism of the emotions experienced by its members. It is based on a field survey carried out among a French-speaking public using a questionnaire (N = 419), supplemented by five individual semi-directive interviews and by the analysis of an amateur podcast episode entitled "Qu is a Disney fan? ". This industry has been distinguished since its origins by its "emotional ethos". Its fans, whose passion is firmly anchored in childhood memories and in a "transformative" nostalgia, draw from it a feeling of "ontological security", of comfort based on a palimpsest of sedimented emotions. Disney animated films, but also the Disneyland Paris theme park and merchandising jointly contribute to their long-term emotional investment.