Processes & Methods – Cultivating Misinformation

This project utilizes a mixed-methods approach to data collection that consists of a combination of quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews from a social constructionism perspective that leverages the theoretical lens of cultivation theory with support from communication infrastructure theory and uses and gratifications theory. Through this, an understanding is gained concerning how individuals use and are impacted by the news in ways that allow political division and polarization to flourish, which damages social capital and democracy.

Surveying

The first step in cultivating a productive research harvest is the quantitative method of a survey. Utilizing a survey is advantageous for several reasons. It allows for data collection from a wide array of respondents with relative ease and is not confined to geographic boundaries formed by the necessity of traveling to gather information¹. Specifically, this survey, which is a questionnaire, is administered online using the Qualtrics surveying platform. This means the survey is administered without supervision, which eliminates the potential for interviewer bias that can arise in a face-to-face setting².

The survey used in this project can be classified as a descriptive survey. It seeks to gather information that could be used to describe and document the current attitudes and conditions of news use and trust within the sample population³⁴. Specifically, the survey does not collect individually identifiable information. It only asks for demographic information about the respondents without requiring names. It also will require respondents to sign off on the necessary informed consent documentation as stipulated by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). With consent and demographic information gathered, those individuals are asked 50 survey questions that address the focus of this project.

The survey is segmented into questions pertaining to media use, news trust and misinformation and disinformation, and social and civic engagement. Each question is either multiple choice or utilizes a Likert or Likert-type scale. The multiple-choice questions allow for only one response. When necessary, an “other” option will be presented, allowing the respondent to fill in his or her response if the provided options do not include the answer he or she wishes to provide. The Likert or Likert-type scales utilize a 1-to-5 scale. Some questions will be true Likert scales using the options range of “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree,” while others will use different descriptive labels, making them Likert-type scales. The final question of the survey will be the only question that does not fit into the multiple-choice or scaling categories. It is open-ended to provide respondents the opportunity to share any other thoughts or opinions they have that were not covered through the survey questions.

Interviewing

The second step in cultivating a productive research harvest necessitates a deeper dive into the thoughts and attitudes of the sample population. This entails the qualitative method of semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Interviews exist as social interactions facilitated by conversation⁵.

For this projects, participants are recruited through two methods. In some cases, participants are recruited using direct contact in the form of phone calls and emails to individuals known to the researcher that fit the ideal parameters of the study. In other cases, individuals volunteer to be interviewed by completing a separate form that indicates their willingness to be part of the next phase of the research. This form, created using Google Forms, is made available at the end of the previously discussed survey. By using a separate form, the risk of survey respondents becoming identifiable is minimized as the two sets of data are kept apart. Upon agreeing to be interviewed, respondents sign off on the necessary informed consent documentation as stipulated by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Then, via a time and method agreed upon by the researcher and the respondent, the interview questions are asked and observations are gathered.

All interviewed participants are identified by an assigned alias, title, general organizational affiliation, and other demographic information as applicable. In terms of the interviews, participants are asked a series of questions during a 30-to-90-minute session or series of sessions. They have the opportunity and choice to answer each question. Participants are expected to answer questions they choose to address with openness and honesty, understanding that they could decline to answer any question presented to them. Again, the interviews take place at a time and location agreed upon by all parties, which includes in-person meetings, video conferencing such as Zoom or Google Meet, or phone calls. Following the formal interview and administering of the questions, the interview is discussed, which serves as a debrief. During this debrief, participants are allowed to provide feedback on the questions and processes they experienced. The interviews are recorded using video and/or audio recording devices. The recordings are used to develop transcripts of the interviews that are coded and analyzed, but the raw recordings are not made public.

No one is paid for participating, and the information collected might be used for future research without additional informed consent.

Analysis

Making sense of the survey data collected entails utilizing concepts of descriptive analysis. Through this, the responses are described via the following factors: looking at the average responses to questions, which is the mean; the middle value of responses to questions, which is the median; the frequency of responses to questions, which is the mode; the different between the lowest and highest response values to the questions, which is the range; and the average variation from the average value of question responses, which is the standard deviation⁶.

As for the interviews, they are analyzed using Thematic Analysis (TA). TA provides an accessible form of analysis that relies upon an iterative and reflexive process of investigating the discourses or words used⁷.

Specifically, this research adopts the reflexive TA approach⁸. This style of TA utilizes a six-step process for conducting the research⁹¹⁰¹¹. This entails multiple reading and coding sessions to identify and refine themes while organizing and describing the data¹²¹³¹⁴. The themes are determined through inductive analysis, which allows the data to dictate the themes¹⁵¹⁶.

Notes & References

1
Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (2014). Mass media research: an introduction (10th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
2
Berger, A. A. (2020). Media and communication research methods: an introduction to qualitative and quantitative approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
3
Berger, A. A. (2020). Media and communication research methods: an introduction to qualitative and quantitative approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
4
Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (2014). Mass media research: an introduction (10th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
5
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4 ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
6
⁶Ormen, J. (2021). Quantitative approaches to media and communication research. In K. B. Jensen (Ed.), A Handbook of Media and Communication Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies (3rd ed., pp. 255-285). Routledge.
7
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic Analysis: Striving to Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1609406917733847. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
8
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
9
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. SAGE.
10
Kiger, M. E., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher, 42(8), 846-854. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030
11
Terry, G., & Hayfield, N. (2021). Conceptual foundations of thematic analysis. In Essentials of thematic analysis. (pp. 3-14). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000238-001
12
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
13
Connaughton, S. L., Linabary, J. R., Krishna, A., Kuang, K., Anaele, A., Vibber, K. S., Yakova, L., & Jones, C. (2017). Explicating the relationally attentive approach to conducting engaged communication scholarship. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 45(5), 517-536. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2017.1382707
14
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic Analysis: Striving to Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1609406917733847. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
15
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
16
Kiger, M. E., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher, 42(8), 846-854. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030