NickGeidner.com

The upcoming issue of New Media and Society will feature an article written by myself and a number of other Ohio State grads. The article, entitled The Political Use of YouTube in the 2008 election, was written with Ivan Dylko (University of New Mexico), Michael Beam (Washington State University) and Kristen Landreville (University of Wyoming) and is a content analysis of the most popular political videos on YouTube during the 2008 election cycle.

The goals of this study are to explore several claims about the democratizing potential of the Internet and to extend gatekeeping theory into user-generated content (UGC) domain. A quantitative content analysis of the most popular YouTube political news videos during the 2008 presidential election was conducted to investigate the degree to which nonelites were able to partake in mainstream public discourse. We found that elites dominated first and second filters (news sourcing and news production) in the flow of online news, while nonelites dominated the third filter (news distribution). These results suggest that an update to the traditional gatekeeping model is needed to reflect the realities of today’s user-driven communication environment.

I’ll post a link once it is available.

Uncategorized ContentAnalysis, OSU, research, youtube

I have been working on learning and using agent-based modeling (ABM) to look at the fundamental assumptions of communication theories. In my dissertation, I will be using ABM to demonstrate that voluntary groups can emerge from an autonomous, heterogenous population based on the principles of Perceived Voluntary Group Cohesion (PVGC). I am still working on the exact design of the model, but so far I have following workflow:

The simulation space is defined by one public area (the default space) and two group areas. In the model, it is assumed that (1) when recruiting for a group agents choose to recruit agents like themselves, (2) PVGC is the sole motivator of group involvement, and (3) PVGC degrades over time without further participation.

PVGC will be calculated by allowing the individual agent to calculate its profits and losses associated with group, keep track of the similarity of the other group members it interacts with while in the group, and keep track of its ability to communicate within the group. These are oversimplified, abstract versions of PVGC in the real world.

By modeling PVGC in an abstract manner, we can see if it is at all possible for individual-level PVGC to lead to the macro-level structure of interest (i.e., stable voluntary groups). This will give some support to PVGC as currently conceptualized, but it is very weak support (i.e., a proof of concept). Because of that a national survey will also be employed which looks at PVGC and future commitment to the organization.

Uncategorized ABM, dissertation, PVGC, research

Thursday – 14:30-15:45 – Room 303

Panel: The Effects of One-Sided News Media – Political Communication

Paper: A Theory of Political Campaign Media Connectedness, Part II: Clarifying Debate Viewing and Online Media

Authors: R. Lance Holbert & Nick W. Geidner, Ohio State U, USA

Friday – 10:00-11:15 – Room 310

Panel: The Influence of the Media on Political Knowledge and Socialization – Mass Communication

Paper: Collective Dynamics of the Spiral of Silence: The Role of Quasi-Statistical Monitoring

Authors: Dongyoung Sohn & Nick W. Geidner, Ohio State U, USA

Friday – 13:00-14:15 – Gallery

Poster: Perceived Network Connection: A Reliability and Validity Assessment of an Individual-Level Measure of Group Attachment

Author: Nick W. Geidner, Ohio State U, USA

Uncategorized Conference, ICA, research

UPDATE: I recently received word that my paper was a top three student paper in CT&M.

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A paper I wrote was accepted for presentation in the Communication Theory and Methodology division at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference. The conference is in August this summer. Here is the abstract:

The spiral of silence is one of the primary social explanations of public opinion formation currently employed in social science research. In short, Noelle-Neumann (1974; 1993) argues that individual-level opinion expression is a function of the opinion climate of the society. This paper adds a macro-level boundary condition to by the theory by examining how group involvement can affect the spiraling process. Using agent-based modeling, a simulation, replicating the assumptions in the spiral of silence, was created. Two other models, which added groups to the simulated society, were also created. Through running and comparing the results of these simulations, it was found that the addition of groups allowed for the survival of the societal-level minority opinions in certain cases. Further research should enhance the models used in this paper and should use agent-based modeling to examine other social communication theories.

The paper is titled “Group Involvement and the Spiral of Silence: Using Agent-Based Modeling to Understand Opinion Expression” and hopefully will sent out for potential publication soon.

Uncategorized ABM, AEJMC, Conference, research

This summer I will be presenting 3 papers at the International Communication Associations annual conference in Singapore. The first is a solo-authored paper that looks at the measurement of perceived network connection, which is a concept I have been working on for the last couple years. This is the first formal measurement of the concept. Below is the abstract. For more information check the connection page.

Much of human action occurs within groups (e.g., workgroups, family, social groups, society, etc.). Yet, the relationship between individuals and the groups they interact with has been a relatively understudied area. This paper presents perceived network connection as an important explanatory variable in understanding human action within groups. Specifically, PNC is defined as an individual’s assumptions and comprehensions about their cognitive, emotional, and communicative attachment to a bounded collective to which they belong. PNC is theorized to have three lower-order factors (perceived utility, affective evaluation, and communication connectedness). Using a 3-study design, this paper presents a valid and reliable 9-item measure for quantifying an individual’s perceived connection to a given network.

The second paper is co-authored with Prof. Dongyoung Sohn and examines the assumption of quasi-statistical sense within the spiral of silence. The paper uses agent-based modeling to propose a boundary condition for the spiral of silence. Here is the abstract:

The spiral of silence has persisted as one of the main explanatory mechanisms in mass communication research, which links individuals’ perception of opinion climate and their likelihood of speaking out. Since individuals’ opinions and likelihood of expressing them are shaped, altered, and/or reinforced constantly by the changing opinion climate, the outcome of this dynamic process cannot be inferred directly from the sum of individual traits at a particular point in time. This study, using computer simulations, examined the generative mechanism, through which individuals’ opinion sampling and monitoring translate into macro-level outcomes. Findings indicate that large scale spiral of silence is not a universal phenomenon, but occurs only when some macro-level boundary conditions are met — a critical mass of individuals who perceive the global opinion climate with the intermediate level of accuracy.

The final paper I co-authored with Prof. Lance Holbert and is a follow-up to his recent Communication Monographs piece on political campaign media connectedness theory. Here is the abstract:

Holbert and Benoit’s (2009) theory of political campaign media connectedness (PCMC) offers three axioms that allow for the positing of a series of causal associations between the use of two-sided political media information outlets, the use of one-sided political media information outlets, and debate viewing. The present study clarifies the specific role played by debate viewing as mediator and introduces the use of new media for political communication purposes to PCMC’s theoretical fold. Fourteen hypotheses serve as a foundation for this secondary analysis of 2004 National Annenberg Election Study (NAES) debate panel data (N = 1248). Debate viewing was found to play a key role as mediator, allowing for linkages to be established between seemingly disparate forms of political media use. In addition, multiple types of online political media engagement served as predictors of debate viewing and debate viewing also served as a mediator that linked new political media use with more traditional forms of media engagement within the context of a political election.

Uncategorized ICA, research

I have updated the Connection page as a result of some of my current research on Perceived Network Connection. I have had some really encouraging findings recently and am excited to move forward on this project. I believe the measurement to be in very good shape for measuring individual-level connection to voluntary groups. In the up-coming months, I am going to be testing out the measure in other types of group, strengthening the theory behind PNC, and setting boundary conditions.

Please e-mail me if you have any questions about my PNC research.

Uncategorized PNC, research

An invited piece that I co-authored with Prof. Lance Holbert was just published in the latest issue of Communication Studies. Here is the abstract:

This essay makes the argument that political communication researchers would be well served to look to communication theories developed in other communication subfields as a means by which to advance a number of different research agendas. A series of events or issues that came to light during the 2008 Presidential election are highlighted and specific theories from communication subfields, other than political communication, are isolated in order to show the utility these theories would bring to political communication scholarship. Five communication subfields are focused on in this essay: Interpersonal communication, persuasion, communication information technology, media effects, and strategic communication. The 2008 election topics covered in this essay include face-to-face political discussions of race and gender, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, YouTube, Saturday Night Live, and lifestyle political campaigning.

The full article can be found here.

APA Citation: Holbert, R. L. & Geidner, N. (2009). The 2008 election: Highlighting the need to explore additional communication sub-fields to advance political communication. Communication Studies, 60, 344-358

Uncategorized 2008 election, holbert, publishing, research

Tomorrow I will be presenting my 2nd year Ph.D. talk to the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. My talk is the first of three studies, which attempts to create a valid and reliable measure for Perceived Network Connection. In this presentation, I present a 19-item measure for PNC, shows it reliability, and begin to show its validity.

PNC 2nd Year Talk – Full Presentation

Uncategorized PNC, research

Paper accepted for presentation at AEJMC:

The primary purpose of this study is to refine gatekeeping theory, by examining it in the new context of user-generated news content. Videos from YouTube were utilized as an approximation of user-generated content, due to YouTube’s leadership position in the online user-generated video streaming market. A quantitative systematic content analysis of the most popular YouTube political news videos during the months preceding the 2008 presidential election was conducted to investigate: (1) if YouTube effectively enabled non-elite groups to partake in the mainstream public discourse and (2) to what extent the traditional media dominate the most popular news content on YouTube. Results offer support to both Internet pessimists and optimists by showing that both elite and non-elite groups find a meaningful way to utilize the user-generated media environment. The fact that the non-elites are able to do so, however, is notable and has important implications for journalism and democracy.

Citation: Dylko, I., Landerville, K. D., Beam, M. A., & Geidner, N. W. (2009). Gatekeeping and YouTube: News Filters and the Intermedia Dynamic in the Age of User-Generated Content. Paper submitted to the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Boston, Mass.

This paper was also in the top three for the Communication Technology Jung-Sook Lee Student Paper Competition.

Uncategorized AEJMC, beam, content analysis, dylko, landerville, research, youtube

I recently ran some data for my HLM class looking at student newspaper availability and political enthusiasm and participation. I had null findings everywhere. Here are more specifics:

Hypotheses
H1: The availability of a student newspaper on a college campus will positively impact individual-level enthusiasm towards the 2008 presidential campaign.
H2: The availability of a student newspaper on a college campus will positively impact an individual’s likelihood to attend a campaign event.
H3: The availability of a student newspaper on a college campus will positively impact an individual’s likelihood to volunteer for a campaign.

Sample estimates
Level 1: Survey of 25,000 college students at 50 colleges and universities in 4 battleground states during October 2008.
Level 2: Newspaper data, enrollment, public/private, and aggregate candidate contact data derived for 32 of the above schools.

Controls
Level 1: Sex, Age, Race, Candidate contact, Political ideology, Political party, news media use, and political discussion
Level 2: Enrollment, Public vs. private, and aggregate campaign contact.

IV
“Student newspaper availability” was created by multiplying the average print run for the paper by the number of times is pass printed per week and then dividing by undergraduate enrollment. This gave a value which was equivalent to the number of newspapers printed per undergrad per week.

DV’s
Enthusiasm: 4 point scale (ran as ordinal logit model)
Attend campaign event: Dichotomous
Volunteer for a campaign: Dichotomous

Findings
In none of the models did student newspaper availability have a significant effect on the outcome variable (p=.165 to p=.865).

Uncategorized 2008 election, HLM, journalism, newspaper, null, presidential, research