The Normativity of Communication Research: A Content Analysis of Normative Claims in Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (1970–2014)

Abstract

In times of rapid media change, society is increasingly asking for expertise from communication research. Well-founded assessments of current developments require knowledge of the normative foundations of the discipline, but empirical analyses of the normativity of communication research are scarce. We developed an innovative, multistep approach to make the discipline’s normative perspectives visible. We identified, systemized, and quantified normative claims consisting of three elements: content (what is evaluated/should happen?), subject (who is responsible?), and object (who benefits?). This approach provides the basis for a long-term content analysis of articles from international peer-reviewed journals in communication research (1970–2014). The results show that communication research is normative, but research fields differ in their degree of normativity, likely resulting from the discipline’s interdisciplinary roots. The normative focal points vary over time, reflecting changes in the discipline and in the media during the period examined. Based on these results, we call for informed handling of the normativity shaping communication research.