Introduction
This essay will analyze the article “New media and political communication in Asia: a critical assessment of research on media and politics”. It will analyze this article through questions.
The rationale for carrying out this study as provided by the author is to evaluate research on the relationship between latest media and political contacts in Asian communities. The study evaluates the situation of discipline of political contacts and increases awareness on the role and effect of media in state affairs. The author further states that previous investigations have acknowledged the effect of media on distinct features of political life in community with the Asian community being the top leader. Based on these previous investigations, the study evaluates the late media and political contact in Asian communities. It was to examine this late media and political contacts in the Asian community to offer an experimental analysis of the development and matters dealing with research based on Asian political contacts. This was to offer new guidelines for future investigations (Wimmer & Dominick 1987 p. 112).
A hypothesis is an official and definite statement about a predicted association between two variables. It is usually tested as to whether it is right or wrong. A research question, on the other hand, is an official stated query aimed at providing an initiative (Willnat & Aw 2009 p. 422).
The main research question in this study is whether American researchers control late media and political contact investigation in Asia. The other research question is on the most common paradigm in articles dealing with late media and political contacts in Asia that were printed between the period 1988-2008 in key communication journals.
Epistemology is a term used to refer to the premise of knowledge. The epistemologies used in this study include objectivism and subjectivism. In objectivism, the researcher attempts to find out the absolute truth concerning the research topic. In subjectivism, the research bases his results depending on the community perceptions regarding his area of study.
Research paradigms refer to the complete constellation of values, beliefs, and methods shared by society members. It provides researchers with a contextual structure for observing and making logic of the study subject. Paradigms used in research control the manner in which queries are asked, the techniques used the principle for what is recognized as data and the measures for assessing the strength of knowledge assertions. The research paradigms used in this study include systems paradigm, interpretivism and critical paradigm. The study falls under systems paradigm since it uses experimental information to reveal patterns in media communication and human political actions. The critical paradigm observes what is unjust in the community and attempts to modify things for the better of the unfortunate in the society. It is usually founded on class regardless of race, sex, age, and customs (Willnat & Aw 2009 p. 422).
Interpretivism has also been used in this article since this article seeks to comprehend the significance of individual actions by inferring a comparatively small group of interconnected events. The interpretivism paradigm sees individual actions as aimed at making sense and interprets them with the aim of comprehending human experience. The study also makes use of the critical paradigm though this is used at a very small degree. This is seen where the article tries to evaluate a comparative small set of contents to find out the underlying philosophy and principles. Systems theory paradigm is, however, the central paradigm of investigation pertaining latest media and political contact investigation in Asia during this research period. It sees a community as a component of diverse parts interrelating and working together to run it effectively and sustain equilibrium (Wimmer & Dominick 1987 p. 112).
The covering laws used in this article are generalized, that is, they are universalized to a wide set of phenomena. This means that they rely on two forms of elucidations that include nomothetic and idiographic. Nomothetic involves a wide-ranging type of elucidation while idiographic involves an eccentric type of elucidation. It looks for the exclusive causes influencing a phenomenon (Cook 1998 p. 220).
The data collection methods used in this study includes survey and content analysis. These two were used to investigate the Asian communication system both at the communal and political level. Content analysis constricts many words into small subject matters depending on open rules. It makes conclusions by objectively and analytically recognizing specified features of messages. This technique was applied in this study since the available data was durable. It enabled the scholars in this study to sift through big data volumes with simplicity. Survey in this study was used in data collection since this phenomenon could not be openly observed. It is non-experimental, explanatory and uses only a sub set of the whole population (Willnat & Aw 2009 p. 422).
In multiple data collection methods, more than one procedural contrivance is used in one investigation. This study has used multiple methods of data collection. For instance, survey is a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data collection. Survey with close-ended queries is referred to as quantitative while that with open-ended queries is referred to as qualitative. Other methods of data collection, which could have been used in addition to the ones used in the study, include secondary analysis, historical research, thematic review of literature, individual interviews, observation of participants and case study. Individual interviews and participant observation could assist in recognizing significant variables and offer valuable data to the researchers. Secondary analysis, historical research, and thematic review of literature could help in testing and establishing theories under restricted conditions. Future researchers should thus reflect on using these techniques (Tubman 1998p. 66).
Positivism is a research paradigm that could have been used in this study. In positivism, observations are made via the human five senses. It conflicts with the prevailing spiritual paradigm of the will of God. Only empirical observations are used. It makes use of quantitative data collection methods. The functionalist paradigm could have also been used. This gives reasons as to why human beings do things in a certain manner. In this paradigm, communal structures and procedures have particular functions. This paradigm thus seeks for a system to maintain those frameworks and processes (Tubman 1998p. 66).
This study is deductive. This is because the study operates from a more universal to a more definite research. It uses a top down tactic whereby the researchers begin by coming up with theories about their topic of concern and narrowing this down into a more definite hypothesis which they can put into test. Data is then collected after which the hypothesis is tested. This is usually done as a verification or disapproval of the former theories.
A variable is a recognizable and quantifiable complement of a construct. It can be either dependent or independent. The independent variable can be changed or controlled by the scholar while dependent variable is the retort of what is being investigated. An independent variable is thus the supposed cause while the dependent variable is the supposed effect. The independent variable in this research is the hours of using the new media in communication such as mobile phones and the internet. The dependent variable which is the one the investigator attempts to explain involves the use of new media and political communication (Tubman 1998p. 66).
The independent variable in this research can be operationalised with population figures. The dependent variable, on the other hand, can be operationalised by circulation figures of newspapers from Audit Bureau /TV ratings from OZTAM to select the most popular media outlets to study this phenomenon.
The unit of analysis in this study is content analysis, which involved coding.
The sample size used in this study was 11. Selection of the journals used was based on the capability to be cataloged in SSCI.
The sampling method used in this study is random. All variables were given the same probability and had equal chances of being chosen. This was done to reduce bias and make simpler the evaluation of the results. It is clearly indicated that the research was carried out using ten randomly selected articles.
The kinds of measurement involved in this study include nominal and ordinal variables. Things like age were ranked under nominal level variable measurements.
This study found out that the use of assumptions was widespread in late media and political contact communication investigations in Asia. The blind use of western suppositions about the influence of new media in Asian political dealings, however, is challenged in this article. Findings of this research further show that new media is present in communal and political concepts of the Asian nations and its position in political communication needs to be investigated. Results further showed that the internet could be destructive to non-democratic nations like Asia that find it extremely hard to regulate the media. It was further found out that the political custom of Asian nations mediates the consequence of allowing information expertise on opinionated mobilization and contribution. Finally, this study found out that the procedures used for research of communication in Asia are narrow (Cook 1998 p. 220).
The conclusion is that the findings of this research are dependent on the inclinations found in previous mass communication investigations. The results in this article thus verify the supremacy of the social science pattern in Asian late media and political contact.
The heuristic value (or the outcomes for the discipline /society) of the study is that this study is very significant in the Asian society. It verifies the supremacy of the social science paradigm in Asia.
One of the alternative explanations I can suggest for these findings and conclusions is that there is need for a more innovative research including closely related research. The methodology used for this research needs to be broadened. Future investigations should thus consider employing more data collection techniques with the use of more books and monographs for literature review. This will help in seeking an inclusive gauge of this developing field of opinionated communication in the Asian nation (Anderson1987p. 6).
The five items of scholarly literature related to the same topic area as my selected article include Asian Journal of Communication, Journal of Communication Theory, Journal of Current Issues in Research in Advertising, Journal of Communication and the journal of Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. These five studies are similar to the drifts found in my selected article. They verify the supremacy of the paradigm of social science in the late media in Asia and political communication investigation. These five studies further show that the internet could be destructive to non-democratic nations like Asia that find it extremely hard to regulate the media. According to these five studies, the political custom of Asian nations mediates the consequence of allowing information expertise on opinionated mobilization and contribution (Fink & Gantz 1996; Ha & Pratt 2000; Potter, Cooper & Dupagne 1993; Sin, Ho & So 2000 & Lauf 2005). A brief summary of the findings of each of this articles is given below.
Asian Journal of Communication
The article presents an assessment of two advances used to conceptualize the connection of media relationship while undertaking audience examination. This includes viewers in the media as opposed to viewers in the real world. Two senses making research on the viewers needs during leisure time in terms of information and looking for success was carried out. One focused on the audience wants in real life while the other was carried on the wants during reading coverage on the newspapers. As envisioned, there was a significantly high difference in the two conditions. The argument advances that conceptualizations of the viewers are a significant source of the space in the media and viewers as well as in media professionals and researchers. This extends also to the media practices of the present as opposed to the requirements in the future of cyber space (Fink & Gantz 1996).
Journal of Communication Theory
This article makes use of Tsinghua University since it a very prominent university in China. It tries to establish the reasons as to why the procedure of mass communication internalisation in China is growing at a very high rate. This article provides a holistic advance in demonstrating organisational culture, framework, persons and technological support in addition to the association between each aspect and internalisation of mass communication. The results of this article is the fact that regardless of the ritual structure and political management and power, China needs strong communications in terms of its human resources, English aptitude and technology so as to have strong positive association with the internalisation of mass communication (Ha & Pratt 2000)
Journal of Current Issues in Research in Advertising
The article is a discussion involving Japanese and Chinese intellectuals on the upheaval and outlook of communication studies in the continent of Asia. The dialogue addresses many issues on communication such as the current situation of studies in communication and reasons why researchers stopped the domination of Eurocentric communication models. This article continues to look at ways of improving communication studies and how they should be evaluated (Potter, Cooper & Dupagne 1993).
Journal of Communication
This article was written by James Potter who became a member of the communication Department in Asia in the year 2001. This article majorly concentrates on media literacy and aggression. It explains the overall presumption of the mass media by amalgamating the theories and research results concerning the mass media. The findings in this article are that Asia needs to be transformed into a unified system of communication (Sin, Ho & So 2000).
Journal of Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
This particular article offers tangential proof of what types of questions are most probable to remain unrequited during relaxation time newspaper reading. It makes an individual to anticipate that most of these questions entail definitions of terms related to mass communication in Asia. This article proposes that there is need for a design strategy that operates with vocabulary that is well placed when it comes to mass communication (Lauf 2005).
Research is advantageous to the society and the community thus, has a role to play. Investigators need to be ethical and accountable. The ethical issues that could have been involved in this study include participation, harm to the involved subjects, informed permission, secrecy, discretion, suppression and deception. To protect the subjects, it should be ensured that participation is merely voluntary without compulsion. Unnecessary pains and grievances should not be imposed on the subjects. Embarrassments affecting their self-respect should be totally avoided. The subjects should accept to take part in the study only after comprehending the aim of the study. Information regarding the subjects should be separated from the data collected. Submitted reports should not be written in a manner that the personalities of the involved subjects could be speculated. The research contributors should be expressed as a group. Pseudonyms should be used for secrecy and privacy (Anderson1987p. 6).
References
Anderson, J.A. (1987) Communication research: Issues and methods. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Cook, T. (1998) Governing with news: The news media as political institutions. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
*Fink, E., & Gantz, W., (1996) A content analysis of three mass communication research traditions: Social science, interpretive studies, and critical analysis. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 73(1), 114-134.
*Ha, L., & Pratt, C., (2000) Chinese and non-Chinese scholars’ contributions to communication research on Greater China. Asian Journal of Communication, 10(1), 95-114.
*Lauf, E. (2005) National diversity of major international journals in the field of communication. Journal of Communication, 55(1), 139-151.
*Potter, W.J., Cooper, R., & Dupagne, M. (1993) The three paradigms of mass media research in mainstream communication journals. Communication Theory, 3(4), 317-335.
*Sin, L.Y., Ho, S., & So, S.L. (2000) An assessment of theoretical and methodological development in advertising research on mainland China: A twenty-year review. Journal of Current Issues in Research in Advertising, 22(2), 53-69.
Tubman, G. (1998) A not-so worldwide web: The Internet, China, and the challenges to non-democratic rule. Political Communication, 15(2), 255-272.
Willnat, L., & Aw, A. (2009) Political communication in Asia. New York: Routledge.
Wimmer, R.D., & Dominick, J.D. (1987) Mass media research. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing.