Communication science

communication science, also medium and communication science or journalism, is a branch of the social science and/or. Sociology, itself predominantly with social phenomena more publicly, and/or. Mass communication, in addition, individual communication concern.

articles and organization

the individual Forschungsgebiete of the communication science leaving most simply with the help of the letting waving leaving to clarify themselves and in the question summarize: (1) Who (2) sayswhat (3) on which way (4) to whom (5) with which effect? This separation can be contested however for instance with reference to the theory of social systems.

The study of the effects of the mass communication (medium impact research) refers thereby on the one hand to the individual, the psyche with cognitions and emotions. On the other hand also effects on the society or parts of the society are examined. Here is v.a. the term of the public opinion relevantly.

fundamental ideas

• communication ganz allgemein ist die Bedeutungsvermittlung zwischen Lebewesen. (Gerhard Maletzke, Kommunikationswissenschaft im Überblick, S.37) -> social communication processes (contrary to technical) form thus the center of the interest.

More exactly: symbolically interaction mediated(Burkart, Roland, communication science, S.20 FF.)

• mass communication: that process, with which stating publicly by technical spreading means indirectly and on one side to a disperses public are mediated. (Definition of Gerhard Maletzke in: Psychology of the mass communication, S.32).
• Interaction: social acting (=intentionales behavior). Since communication is nothing elseas social acting by symbols, C sets. F. Grey man the terms “communication” and “interaction” directly.
• Language: Communication by symbols.
• Kommunikator: the journalist, moderator or commentator, who state something. There in practice usually several persons at the spreading ofStatements are involved, speak one today often better of the “Kommunikatorseite”.
• Statement: “the stating” would be more precise. “The stating” covers both contents and the form of messages.
• Medium: (lat. Means) a disputed term, generally spreading technology or a means. Media of first order: technical mechanisms (printing machines,Video cut systems, screens etc.) - thus bare communication channels or infrastructure. Media of second order: Form the Labour Organizations (do editorships, press agencies o.a.)? Data processing sample? The communication science did not agree here yet.

The somewhat holprige definition of And. Saxer: “… complex institutionalized systems around organized communication channels of specific efficiency.” (Saxer, bordersthe journalism science)

• recipient: A person, the one statement receives and “decoded”. Turns several recipients the same statement too, one speaks oneself of public. Quite uniformly used term.

small theory history of the impact research

the beginning of the impact research lies among other things in the investigation ofInfluence by propaganda, importantly in particular the research in the USA in the surrounding field the Second World War. In the subject it is discussed whether in these early periods attraction reaction models of communication outweighed. Furthermore the newspaper science represents a starting point for the development of the subject in the German-speaking countries.

In the runspecialized history naturally simple is replaced by more complex models and theories. Thus theory history develops away from conceptions, according to which information and opinions will transfer by communication to models, like recipients with medium contents interact, from them conceptions of the world designs itself and by means of different ways from itAttitudes and decisions derive. Delivered the controversy over it, to what extent medium contents and conceptions of the world of the recipients can be description of reality, is final however not. Generally the contrast with the pair of terms “realism” and” constructionalism “is expressed.

Occasionally the break with strong effects referred to attitudes sharpens itselffor the thesis too, media could at all only intend if, which topics the recipients as relevantly to notice, not however, which attitude they take in addition. For this the picture of the “agenda “is used, thus the list its that is treated straight as important. That is called accordinglyConcept to this research tradition “agenda setting”.

“By the Hintertüre” however opinions creep, by arriving at the insight the fact that a topic does not represent all too hard unit but has different aspects. In addition the realization comes that the human data processing does not function necessarily independently of it,in which order and with which stress aspects are brought, but rather the availability of information more or less contributes the conclusions. Thus again the ability is attributed to the media to contribute by stressing, playing, omitting down (it is intentionful or not) judgements.

The newer research holdsmultiplicity of theory offers and articles ready, of which investigation of of the instantful maintenance experiencing up to the long-term Kultivation of fears and distrust by thousandfold Rezeption of offers, in which danger and force are represented, of the investigation of political forming of an opinion on the influence of PR upReporting up to the Rezeption of soccer games, of references to the critical theory up to system-theoretical beginnings. In addition the communication science must argue with the fact that partial measurement and individual communication are to be separated more with difficulty, approximately in different applications of the Internet.

toContents, Kommunikator and public research as well as further areas

the contents research are concerned with contents, i.e. Statements and representation methods its that the media convey. It differentiates itself on the one hand on the basis the controversy over it, which objectively ascertainable contents are, on the other hand after the interest of realization, for instance the estimate of journalistic quality,the alignment of reality and reporting (if one such a comparison considers possible), existence and characteristics of an own “medium reality” as well as the question, which why is not reported and why different one, to the production strategies of medium-creative and in the media present participants, the Ausdifferenzierung of categoryetc.

The Kommunikatorforschung is concerned with medium-creative and their integration in certain organizations: Which attitudes, motivation, interests, training etc. have journalists, PR-specialists etc. They are subject to which obligations, where they are freely, as work them, as decide them itself for topics and representation methods.

The public researchthe composition the recipient shank as well as the motives, the extent, the characteristics and sample of the medium use finally describes: Which soziodemografischen and psychigrafischen descriptions can be made by readers, spectators and listeners? Which time budget and which attention dedicate it to the medium use?

Apart from these areas those is concernedCommunication science more or less intensively with questions of the medium system (Ökonomisierung, concentration, medium economy, law of communication media, media guidelines), the medium ethics etc.

methods

long time the communication science was coined/shaped by empirical methods ( standardized questioning , observation and content analysis), which the logic of the critical rationalism (see. Viennese circle, Karl Popper, Positivismusstreit) followed. Until today empirical research methods form the backbone of the communication science. In particular great importance is attached to the quantitative content analysis. With this proceeding a larger number of medium contents (newspaper article, television contributions etc.) is examined after a before specified raster (category system),whereby it is held whether in the raster described statements (description of certain actions, mention of certain topics and persons, determined rating statements) in the texts (in the broader sense, thus also in picture form) are met. In such a way won the data are then supplied to a statistic analysis, so that toEnd to statements stand like “medium X meets more positive statements about the person A as medium Y” or “about the topic X more frequently under the aspect A reported than under the aspect B, this stands in connection with the mention of C…” etc.

Thisquantizing, explaining, variable-oriented, deductive approach becomes however (many observers mine: to an equal treatment) of qualitative, understanding, inductive, hermeneutischen beginnings supplements increasingly, or replaces. This presses itself in methods like open interviews and qualitative content analyses from

literature

• Siegfried J. Schmidt,Guido Zurstiege:Orientation communication science. Which can do it, which wants it. Rowohlt Tb., 2000
• Klaus Merten, Siegfried J. Schmidt and S. Weischenberg (Hrsg.): The reality of the media. An introduction to the communication science. Opladen: West German publishing house, 1994.
• Roland Burkart: Communication science. Bases and problem fields. Outlines of an interdisciplinary social science.Stuttgart: UTB, 2002.
• Journalism. Quarter booklets for communication research. Given change of Christina Holtz Bacha, Arnulf Kutsch, Wolfgang R. Long books, Klaus beautiful brook. Opladen: West German publishing house, 1955 FF. ([1])

Web on the left of

• German society for journalism and communication science (Dg PuK)
• Hans Bredow institute for media research at the University of Hamburg
• Website of the “seminar for media and communication, University of Erfurt”
• Professor. To Gernot who victory over the study of journalism and communication science at that FU-Berlin

see also

• communication and information
• communication model
• Proxemik