Comparison of Research Methods of Journalism and

Communication between China and America

———Take 2000-2009 "Journalism and
Communication Research" and "Jounal of
Communication" as examples

[Abstract] In scientific research, research methods are more important than research objects and
conclusions in a sense. This article uses the content analysis method to study the academic papers of
"Journal of Journalism and Communication" and "Journal of Communication" from 2000 to 2009, and
explore the differences in the research methods of journalism and communication between the two
countries. The study found that my country's journalism and communication research needs to be
strengthened in the use of quantitative research methods, and needs to be improved in the accuracy of
data and the standardization of research.

[Keywords] communication; research methods; content analysis; "Journalism and Communication

Research"; Jounal of Communication; Chinese Library Classification

Number: G206　 Literature Identification Code: A　　　　

Article Number: 1004-3926 (2010) 07— 0126—04

About the author: Dong Tiance (1963-), male, from Yongchuan, Chongqing, executive vice dean,
professor, and doctoral supervisor of the School of Journalism and Communication of Jinan University,
research direction: journalism communication theory; Chang Daoli (1986-), male, from Jiangxi Taihe,
Graduate student of School of Journalism and Communication of Jinan University, research direction:
mass communication and media criticism. Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632

In scientific research, research methods are more important than research objects and conclusions in a
sense. Only by mastering appropriate research methods can scientific research be further deepened. As
Pavlov said, "The obstacle to initial research lies in the lack of research methods.

Each step forward in the research method, we improve one step further. "[1] 1. Research Purpose and
Path

1. Research purpose

Research methods can be divided into two levels, one is methodological system, and the other is
investigation and research procedures or techniques. The research object of this article is the latter, that
is, the application of investigative research procedures or techniques in communication studies.
At present, the domestic academic circles about the research methods of journalism and
communication have the following characteristics:

1) There are few papers with research methods as the main body, and most of them are comprehensive
discussions on research topics, content and research methods; 2) Comparison of research methods
between China and foreign countries There are few papers, Li Biao’s "The Structure of Research
Methods in Journalism and Communication: An Investigation of Four Major Chinese Academic Journals
in 1995 and 2007" [2], which combined the research methods of academic journals in China and the
same period in the United States In horizontal comparison, the situation in the United States uses the
data in "Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly"; 3) Most of the papers use simple frequency
analysis, which lacks standardization and credibility.

Selected in this article This article selects the academic articles of the "Journalism and Communication
Research" and "Journal of Communication" ("Journal of Communication") from 2000 to 2009 as the
research objects, and tries to explore the research of journalism and communication in the two
countries through content analysis. Differences in methods, discuss the problems existing in the
research methods of news communication in our country, to promote the improvement and perfection
of research methods in this field.

2. Research hypothesis

Research methods in the traditional sense of China pay great attention to the overall research. Xiang
Desheng mentioned in "Journalism Science and Scientific Spirit", "Even true scientific methods such as
system theory and information theory cannot replace philosophical methods." [3] It can be seen that
philosophical methods play an important role in China. After the 1990s, a large number of Western
communication research methods were introduced into China. "The results of quantitative research are
concentrated in the "Journalism and Communication Research" sponsored by the Institute of Journalism
of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences after the reform and opening up." [4] However, "I have truly
received systematic and scientific training and mastery of methods of philosophy and social science
research. There are not many scholars who have developed the basic methods of scientific research" [5].

Based on the above background analysis, this article makes the following assumptions:

Hypothesis 1: Chinese journalism and communication research methods are mainly qualitative research.

Hypothesis 2: Quantitative research on news communication in China has increased in the past decade.

Hypothesis 3: The data analysis method of Chinese journalism and communication research is relatively
simple.

Communication research in the United States has the characteristics of practicality and scientificity.
There are two motivations for its practical orientation: one is that under the market mechanism, the
media industry is fiercely competitive, and the competition for audiences has become the focus of
competition. This socialized scale demand has a guiding and adjustment effect on research; the second
is the source of research funds and research There is a close relationship between the practicality of
private research institutions, and the practicality orientation of private research institutions is self-
evident; although college research institutions try their best to maintain their original academic
expertise, they are also actively engaged in practical research that serves society. In addition, in order to
ensure the scientific nature of research and minimize errors, American mass communication research
pays great attention to the reliability and validity (reliability and validity) of technical measures to ensure
the success of the research. [6] Based on the above discussion, this article assumes:

Hypothesis 4: The research methods of American journalism and communication are mainly quantitative
research.

Hypothesis 5: The data analysis methods of American journalism and communication research are more
precise and diversified.

3. Research methods

This research adopts content analysis method and sets 24 indicators, which belong to the four
dimensions of research method, qualitative research method, quantitative investigation method and
data analysis method. In the selection of journals, China chose ``Journalism and Communication
Research'', which is sponsored by the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences, and has an irreplaceable position in my country's journalism and
communication research; the United States chose ``Journal of Communication" ("Journal of
Communication") is an authoritative and influential magazine in the United States. This article selects all
the academic papers of these two journals from January 2000 to December 2009 (expert interviews,
various news, information trends, etc.), a total of 1011 papers, including 407 English papers and 604
Chinese papers Articles. In order to ensure the reliability of coding, two graduate students with
unknown research purposes were invited to participate in coding. The internal reliability of the coder is
913% (>85%), and the official coding can be started.

2. Data analysis and research findings

Through frequency analysis (Frequency) and Chi square test (Chi square Test) to statistically and
analyze the data, the content analysis results are as follows.

1. In general, China's journalism and communication research methods are mainly qualitative
research, while the United States is mainly quantitative research
2. The research methods of journalism and communication in China, qualitative research
methods are absolutely dominant. Qualitative research is the most (808%), quantitative
research is few (156%), and both qualitative and quantitative research are the least (36%).
During the past ten years, quantitative research methods have been on an intermittent
upward trend, and qualitative research methods have generally declined, but the decline has
been gentle.
3. The research methods of American journalism and communication are dominated by
quantitative research. Quantitative research accounts for the largest proportion (634%),
qualitative research accounts for 30% (346%), and both qualitative and quantitative research
are the least (20%). It can be seen that research in the United States still focuses on the
accuracy and quantification of research content.
News and Communication　 127

2. In terms of qualitative research methods, China mostly adopts "document analysis method",
"archival analysis method" and "other"; the United States mostly adopts document research method
Table 1 　 2000-2009 "Journalism and Communication Research" and "Journal ofCommunication"
Interactive Contingency Table of Research Methods (n = 1011)

Qualitative Research Journalism and Communication Research Journal of Communication X2

Research method Frequency percentage Frequency percentage (df =1)

Observation method 3 0 5 8 2 0 4 875 Interview method 5 0 8 9 2 2 3 408 Case study method 29 4 8 14 3

4 1 107

Document analysis method 231 38 2 110 27 0 13 689 Archive analysis method 126 20 9 9 2 2 73 095
Ethnography method 4 0 7 4 1 0 0 381

It means p <01c0a1t2io, 0n0032 means 00 means 19 p <010011. 3, 21 11 2 332 Others 136 22 5 7 1 7 86

599.

Note: ① One digit is reserved after the decimal point of the percentage, and any more than one digit is
rounded

Into;

②X2 is the chi-square value, which refers to the difference between the frequency of the various
research methods in the articles of "Journal of News and Communication Research" and "Journal of
Communication" between 2000 and 2009

Degree of difference;

③The asterisk () represents the specific degree of the difference, where p <0 05,

In terms of qualitative research methods, Chinese journals dominate the "document analysis method"
(38 Note: ① One digit is reserved after the decimal point of the percentage, and any more than one
digit is rounded

Into;

②X2 is the chi-square value, which refers to the difference between the frequency of the various
research methods in the articles of "Journal of News and Communication Research" and "Journal of
Communication" between 2000 and 2009

Degree of difference;

③The asterisk () represents the specific degree of the difference, where p <0 05,

In terms of qualitative research methods, Chinese journals dominate the "document analysis method"
(38

2%), “other” (22 5%) and “archival analysis method” (209%), and the dominant position is significant,
followed by “case study method” (48%), and “ethnography method” (0 7 % ), “interview method” (0
8% ), and “observation method” (0 5) are very few.

English journals dominate the "document analysis method"

(27 0%), "Case Study Method" (34%), "Interview Method"

(22%), "File Analysis Method" (22%), "Observation Method"

(20%) and "other" (1 7%) have similar frequency, and "ethnography" (10%) has the least frequency.
From the comparison of the qualitative research methods of Chinese and English journals, "document
analysis method", "archival analysis method" and "other" are statistically different. Chinese journals
tend to adopt "other" (X2

=86 599, p <0 001 ), "Archive Analysis Method" (X = 73095, p <0 001) and "Document Analysis Method"
(X = 13689, p<0001).

3. In terms of quantitative survey methods, China uses the "content analysis method" as the mainstay,
while the United States is concerned with the "questionnaire method", "control experiment method"
and

The use of "content analysis" is more balanced

Table 2 　-Years of "Journalism and Communication Research" and "Journal of

Communi 》Comparison of Quantitative Survey Methods (n = 1011)

Quantitative Tone Journalism and Communication Research JounalOf CommunicantionX2

Check method Frequency percentage Frequency percentage (df=1) Questionnaire survey method 274 5
99 24 3 87856 Control experiment method 71 2 85 20 9 114337 Content analysis method 7913 1 99 24 3
21 195 Others 30511 2 7 8665

　　Note: ① The percentage of the decimal point is reserved after the digits exceed the digits

128 　 "Journal of Southwest University for Nationalities" (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition) No.
7, 2010

Into;

②and "JournalOfCommunic The degree of difference between the frequency of occurrence of various
research methods in articles from 2000 to 2009;

③The asterisk () represents the specific degree of difference, which means p <005, It means p <001 and
p <0001.

In terms of quantitative data analysis methods, Chinese journals dominate "frequency analysis" (111%)
and "descriptive statistics analysis" (104%), and the dominant position is significant. "regression
analysis"

(2 2%), "correlation coefficient" (1 5%) and "factor analysis" (1 2%) followed by other data analysis
methods, such as "chi-square test" (10%), "T test" (10%), "Structural Equation"

(0 2%) and "Analysis of Variance" (10%) are very few.

English journals are dominated by "descriptive statistics analysis" (41 0%), "frequency analysis" (24 3%),
and "chi-square test".

(22 6%), "Analysis of Variance" (229%) and "Correlation Coefficient" (19 7%) all account for a relatively
large proportion. "regression analysis"

(13 5% ), "Factor Analysis" (3 4% ), "Structural Equation"

(27%) are relatively small.

From the comparison of quantitative data analysis methods in Chinese and English journals, although
the proportions of "descriptive statistics" and "frequency analysis" are relatively large, from the results
of the chi-square test, all classifications are statistically significant Sex. It shows that the Chinese and
English journals have obvious differences in quantitative data analysis methods. Among them, "analysis
of variance" (X = 131 449, p <0 001), "chi-square test" (X =129729, p <0 001) and "Descriptive Statistics
Analysis" (X =129565, p <0 001) has the most obvious difference.

3. Questions and discussion

1. The choice between qualitative and quantitative research

The research methods of Chinese journalism and communication are mainly qualitative research, which
is absolutely dominant. This kind of research structure, "One problem is that our macro-speculative
academic tradition sometimes makes our research norms too "a hundred flowers bloom", which makes
it impossible to effectively improve the quality of our research because of the lack of norms." American
journalism and communication research methods are quantitative Research is the main focus, but the
absolute dominance has declined. Several issues of the Journal of Communication are in the form of
special issues, that is, scholars express their own understanding and opinions on a research topic, so
they are all qualitative research, such as the fourth issue of 2008, qualitative

The study reached 2 to 811 3%, in 20071 [7] the first issue was In the first period of 2009, it was 667%. It
can be seen that qualitative research methods also occupy a certain position. In fact, since the mid-
1990s, qualitative analysis can be said to have experienced an unprecedented revival. [8] People have
gradually realized that quantitative analysis tends to focus on description while ignoring explanation
when pursuing sample size and universality of results.

"Qualitative analysis seeks to find the causes-of-effects, while quantitative analysis attempts to find the
effects-of-causes." It can be seen that the two research methods have their own focus. Each has its
advantages and disadvantages, and different research methods should be adopted for different research
topics. At the same time, whether it is quantitative or qualitative research, a certain theoretical basis is
very necessary. Therefore, researchers must be trained to reveal and clarify various theories and
hypotheses that guide journalism and communication research. When setting up quantitative research
courses, researchers should be trained in the methods and methods of journalism and communication
research. 2. Accuracy of data analysis

The phenomena in social science research are all random and need to use statistics and probability
theory. Therefore, statistical analysis software such as SPSS and SAS has been favored by the majority of
social researchers. [10] However, this research shows that many papers in my country only draw
conclusions after using SPSS statistical software in a small amount or even superficially, and there is very
little precise and careful analysis of the data.

It can be seen that quantitative research is not only actual operation, but also a solid theoretical
foundation. Only in this way can we grasp the essence of quantitative research, carry out empirical
analysis based on theories and laws, go beyond the empirical level of "generalization", and raise the
research results to a higher theoretical level. Therefore, we should promote and popularize the
application of computers and statistical software among researchers, strengthen the study of
sociological research methods, and improve the professionalism and level of researchers to ensure the
standardization and credibility of the analysis results.

3. Standardization of research methods

This study found that the academic papers of "JounalOf Communicantion" adopting quantitative
research methods have detailed and orderly explanations in terms of assumptions, operating steps,
sampling methods, and measurement indicators. The format is not consistent, and there is no relatively
stable specification.

Each research tradition has relatively stable research norms. The so-called norms are "examples" or
"models." Regardless of the research tradition, its norms contain three elements: values; concepts or
peer terms; and methods. [11] "If the research methods we use are not biased, if the measures we
adopt are credible and effective, and if our findings can be verified, we are more likely to rely on our
own intuition, relying on authoritative judgment or relying on The faith that sticks to is more likely to be
close real'. "[12] It can be seen that method specifications ensure the scientific nature of research to a
large extent. Therefore, in order to obtain the reliability of research conclusions, researchers need to
follow certain method specifications.

News and Communication　 129

This research only involves one of the most representative core journals in journalism and
communication in China and the United States. Due to the clues provided by papers on journalism and
communication research, the reliability and validity of this research will inevitably be affected. It is
hoped that these shortcomings can be supplemented and improved in future research. references :

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Received Date: 2010-04-30　 Chief Editor 　 Wu Dingyong