The sourcebook for political communication research: methods, measures, and analytical techniques

606 Pages·2011·14.97 MB·English

by  E. Page Bucy

THE SOURCEBOOK FOR
POLITICAL COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research offers a comprehensive resource for
current research methods, measures, and analytical techniques. The contents herein cover the
major analytical techniques used in political communication research, including surveys,
experiments, content analysis, discourse analysis (focus groups and textual analysis), network
and deliberation analysis, comparative study designs, statistical analysis, and measurement issues.
It also includes such innovations as the use of advanced statistical techniques, and addresses
digital media as a means through which to disseminate as well as study political communication.
It considers the use of methods adapted from other disciplines, such as psychology, sociology,
and neuroscience.
With contributions from many of the brightest scholars working in the area today, the
Sourcebook is a benchmark volume for research, presenting analytical techniques and investi-
gative frameworks for researching political communication. As such, it is a must-have resource
for students and researchers working and studying activity in the political sphere.
Erik P. Bucy(PhD, University of Maryland–College Park, 1998) is an Associate Professor of
Telecommunications and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and
School of Informatics at Indiana University, Bloomington. Bucy is the editor of Politics and the
Life Sciences,and author, with Maria Grabe, of Image Bite Politics: News and the Visual Framing
of Elections. Bucy serves on the editorial boards of Human Communication Research, The
Information Society, and Mass Communication and Society. He has held visiting and research

appointments at the University of Michigan and Dartmouth College.
R. Lance Holbert (PhD, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2000) is an Associate Professor
and Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University.
He is the author of several articles on the use of structural equation modeling in the commu-
nication sciences. His most recent research has appeared in the Journal of Communication,
Communication Research, Communication Monographs, and Media Psychology. He serves on
the editorial boards of many journals, including the Journal of Communication,Communication
Monographs,and the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media.
i
COMMUNICATION SERIES
Jennings Bryant/Dolf Zillmann, General Editors
Selected titles in Journalism (Maxwell McCombs, Advisory Editor) include:
Friedman/Dunwoody/Rogers—Communicating Uncertainty:
Media Coverage of News and Controversial Science
Garrison—Professional Feature Writing,Fifth Edition
Kaid—Handbook of Political Communication Research
Merritt/McCombs—The Two W’s of Journalism:
The Why and What of Public Affairs Reporting
Poindexter—Women, Men, and News: Divided and
Disconnected in the News Media Landscape

ii
THE SOURCEBOOK FOR
POLITICAL COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
Methods, Measures, and Analytical Techniques
Edited by
Erik P. Bucy
Indiana University
R. Lance Holbert
The Ohio State University

iii
First published 2011
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
The right of Erik P. Bucy and R. Lance Holbert to be identified as editors of this work has been
asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bucy, E. Page, 1963–
Sourcebook for political communication research: methods, measures, and analytical
techniques/ Erik P. Bucy, R. Lance Holbert.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Communication in politics—Research. I. Holbert, R. Lance. II. Title.
JA86.B74 2010
320.01¢4—dc22 2010018104
ISBN 0-203-93866-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–96495–1 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–88497–6 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–203–93866–9 (ebk)
iv
Dedicated to the memory of Michael Pfau—scholar, mentor, friend.

v
vi
Contents
Preface xi
Contributors xiii
INTRODUCTION
1. Advancing Methods and Measurement: Supporting Theory and Keeping Pace
with the Modern Political Communication Environment 3
R. Lance Holbert, The Ohio State University, and Erik P. Bucy, Indiana University
I. SURVEY METHODOLOGY
2. Challenges and Opportunities of Panel Designs 19
William P. Eveland, Jr., The Ohio State University, and Alyssa C. Morey,
The Ohio State University
3. The Rolling Cross-Section: Design and Utility for Political Research 34
Kate Kenski, University of Arizona, Jeffrey A. Gottfried, University of
Pennsylvania, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, University of Pennsylvania

4. Political Communication Survey Research: Challenges, Trends, and Opportunities 55
Lindsay H. Hoffman, University of Delaware, and Dannagal Goldthwaite Young,
University of Delaware
II. SECONDARY ANALYSIS AND META-ANALYSIS
5. Secondary Analysis in Political Communication Viewed as a Creative Act 81
R. Lance Holbert, The Ohio State University, and Jay D. Hmielowski,
The Ohio State University
6. Comparing the ANES and NAES for Political Communication Research 96
Michael W. Wagner, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
7. The Implications and Consequences of Using Meta-Analysis for Political
Communication 114
Mike Allen, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, David D’Alessio, University
of Connecticut–Stamford, and Nancy Burrell, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
vii
viii CONTENTS
III. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
8. Experimental Designs for Political Communication Research: Using New
Technology and Online Participant Pools to Overcome the Problem of
Generalizability 129
Shanto Iyengar, Stanford University
9. Expressing versus Revealing Preferences in Experimental Research 149
Yanna Krupnikov, Indiana University, and Adam Seth Levine, Vanderbilt University
10. The Face as a Focus of Political Communication: Evolutionary Perspectives
and the Ethological Method 165
Patrick A. Stewart, University of Arkansas, Frank K. Salter, Max Planck Research
Group, and Marc Mehu, University of Geneva
11. Multi-Stage Experimental Designs in Political Communication Research 194
Glenn J. Hansen, University of Oklahoma, and Michael Pfau, University of
Oklahoma
IV. CONTENT ANALYSIS
12. Image Bite Analysis of Political Visuals: Understanding the Visual Framing
Process in Election News 209
Maria Elizabeth Grabe, Indiana University, and Erik P. Bucy, Indiana University
13. Identifying Frames in Political News 238
Dennis Chong, Northwestern University, and James N. Druckman, Northwestern
University
14. Content Analysis in Political Communication 268
William L. Benoit, Ohio University

V. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
15. The Use of Focus Groups in Political Communication Research 283
Sharon E. Jarvis, University of Texas–Austin
16. Genealogy of Myth in Presidential Rhetoric 300
Robert L. Ivie, Indiana University, and Oscar Giner, Arizona State University
VI. NETWORK AND DELIBERATION ANALYSIS
17. Methods for Analyzing and Measuring Group Deliberation 323
Laura W. Black, Ohio University, Stephanie Burkhalter, Humboldt State
University, John Gastil, University of Washington, and Jennifer Stromer-Galley,
University of Albany–SUNY
viii
CONTENTS ix
18. Porous Networks and Overlapping Contexts: Methodological Challenges in the
Study of Social Communication and Political Behavior 346
Scott D. McClurg, Southern Illinois University
VII. COMPARATIVE POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
19. Mediatization of Politics: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Comparative
Research 367
Jesper Strömbäck, Mid Sweden University
20. International Applications of Agenda-Setting Theory’s Acapulco Typology 383
Maxwell E. McCombs, University of Texas–Austin, Salma Ghanem, Central
MichiganUniversity, Federico Rey Lennon, Catholic University, Argentina,
R.Warwick Blood, University of Canberra, Australia, Yi-Ning (Katherine) Chen,
National Chengchi University, Taiwan, and Hyun Ban, University of Incheon
21. Political Communication across the World: Methodological Issues Involved in
International Comparisons 395
Christina Holtz-Bacha, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, and
Lynda Lee Kaid, University of Florida
VIII. STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES
22. Expanding the Use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in Political
Communication 419
R. Lance Holbert, The Ohio State University, and Heather L. LaMarre,
University of Minnesota
23. Mediation and the Estimation of Indirect Effects in Political Communication
Research 434
Andrew F. Hayes, The Ohio State University, Kristopher J. Preacher,
University of Kansas, and Teresa A. Myers, The Ohio State University
24. Time Series Analysis and the Study of Political Communication 466
Jennifer Jerit, Florida State University, and Adam F. Simon, Yale University
IX. MEASUREMENT
25. Concept Explication in the Internet Age: The Case of Political Interactivity 485
S. Shyam Sundar, The Pennsylvania State University, and Saraswathi Bellur,
The Pennsylvania State University
26. Beyond Self-Report: Using Latency to Respond to Model the Question Answering
Process on Web-Based Public Opinion Surveys 505
John E. Newhagen, University of Maryland
ix