Comparative Communication Research: A Study of the Conceptual, Methodological, and Social Challenges of International Collaborative Studies in Communication Science

✍ Scribed by Sophia Charlotte Volk

• Publisher: Springer VS
• Year: 2022
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 461
• Series: Studies in International, Transnational and Global Communications
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Comparative research has gained enormous popularity in communication and media studies in the last two decades and is increasingly conducted in international research teams. Collaboration with scholars from different countries brings many advantages, but it is also prone to conflict. Sophia Charlotte Volk presents the first systematic reflection on the conceptual, methodological, and social challenges of international collaborative and comparative studies in communication science. A systematic review of comparative studies and expert interviews with communication scholars shed light on how challenges manifest themselves empirically and what solutions have proven to be appropriate. The book proposes a phase model of collaborative and comparative research that can serve as a guide for scholars on what conditions should be created for productive collaboration in temporary research projects.

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Contents
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction to the Challenges of Comparative Communication Research
1.1 Intellectual Complexity of Comparative Communication Research
1.2 Social Complexity of Comparative Communication Research
1.3 Specific Challenges of Communication Science
1.4 Research Questions and Outline of This Study
2 Comparative Communication Research from the Perspective of the Sociology of Science
2.1 Production of Scientific Knowledge from the Sociology of Science Perspective
2.1.1 Intellectual Organization of Science
2.1.2 Social Organization of Science
2.1.3 Collaborative Production of Scientific Knowledge
2.2 Production of Comparative Knowledge in Communication Science
2.2.1 Status of the Communication Discipline
2.2.2 Development of Comparative Communication Research
2.2.3 Intellectual Organization of Comparative Communication Research
2.2.4 Social Organization of Comparative Communication Research
2.3 Interim Conclusion: An Analytical Matrix of the Organization of Comparative Communication Research
3 Intellectual Challenges of Comparative Communication Research
3.1 State of Research on Comparative Research
3.1.1 Definition of Comparative Communication Research
3.1.2 Reflections on Comparison in Communication Science
3.1.3 Overview of Comparative Social Research
3.1.4 Approaches, Designs, and Logics of Comparative Communication Research
3.2 Principles of Comparison, Common Challenges, and Possible Solutions
3.2.1 Preliminary Remark on the Scientific Principles of Social Science Research
3.2.2 Principles at the Justification Level
3.2.3 Principles at the Conceptual Level
3.2.4 Principles at the Methodological Level
3.2.5 Principles at the Interpretative Level
3.3 Interim Conclusion: A Framework of Principles and a Process Model for Comparative Communication Research
4 Social Challenges of International Collaborative Research
4.1 State of Research on Research Collaboration and Team Science
4.1.1 Overview of the Interdisciplinary Body of Knowledge
4.1.2 Definition of International Research Collaboration, Teams, and Projects
4.1.3 Theoretical Approaches
4.1.4 Empirical Approaches
4.2 Theorizing International Research Teams as Temporary Organizations
4.2.1 Team, Task, Project, and Context Dimension of Temporary Organizations
4.2.2 Inputs, Mediators, and Outcomes of International Team Research
4.2.3 Phases of International Team Research
4.3 Factors Constraining International Team Research
4.3.1 Challenges at the Team Level
4.3.2 Challenges at the Task Level
4.3.3 Challenges at the Project Level
4.3.4 Challenges at the Context Level
4.4 Factors Facilitating International Team Research
4.4.1 Solutions at the Team Level
4.4.2 Solutions at the Task Level
4.4.3 Solutions at the Project Level
4.4.4 Solutions at the Context Level
4.5 Interim Conclusion: An Input-Mediator-Outcome Model and Conceptual Framework of International Team Research
5 Systematic Review of the Intellectual Challenges of Comparative Communication Studies
5.1 Research Questions (RQ1)
5.2 Method
5.2.1 Systematic Review Methodology
5.2.2 Selection of Communication Journals
5.2.3 Sampling of Comparative Studies
5.2.4 Data Extraction
5.2.5 Data Analysis
5.3 Results
5.3.1 State-of-the-Art of Comparative Communication Research
5.3.2 Adherence to Principles of Comparison at the Justification level
5.3.3 Adherence to Principles of Comparison at the Conceptual Level
5.3.4 Adherence to Principles of Comparison at the Methodological Level
5.3.5 Adherence to Principles of Comparison at the Interpretative Level
5.3.6 Variations in the Overall Adherence to Principles of Comparison
5.4 Interim Conclusion: A Roadmap to Progress in Comparative Communication Research
6 Qualitative Study of the Social Challenges of International Team Research in Comparative Studies
6.1 Research Questions (RQ2)
6.2 Method
6.2.1 Methodology of Expert Interviews
6.2.2 Sampling of Experts
6.2.3 Semi-structured Interview Guide
6.2.4 Data Collection
6.2.5 Structured Qualitative Content Analysis
6.3 Results
6.3.1 Description of the Sample
6.3.2 Emergence of Comparative Research Projects
6.3.3 Challenges of International Team Research
6.3.4 Solutions of International Team Research
6.3.5 Causes of Challenges of International Team Research
6.3.6 Outcomes of International Team Research
6.3.7 Enablers and Barriers of International Team Research
6.3.8 Disciplinary and External Conditions of International Team Research
6.4 Interim Conclusion: An Empirically Developed Input-Mediator-Outcome Model of International Team Research in Comparative Communication Science
7 Conclusion on the Intellectual and Social Challenges of Comparative Communication Research
7.1 Discussion of the Results
7.1.1 A Phase Model of Collaborative and Comparative Communication Research
7.1.2 Intractable Tensions of International Collaborative and Comparative Communication Research
7.2 Reflections on this Study
7.2.1 Inconsistencies in the Qualitative Study
7.2.2 Limitations of this Study
7.2.3 Directions for Future Research
7.2.4 Implications for Research Practice
7.2.5 Scientific Contributions of this Study
7.3 Toward a New Age of Comparative Communication Research?
References