QAnon is a U.S.-based conspiracy theory that has been branded as far-right, yet it remains unclear which tenets of transnational far-right ideology are present within QAnon discourse and how ...adherents actively participate in the movement. To address this problem, a multi-phase content analysis on 1,000 tweets and 8kun posts explores the presence of transnational far-right tenets and millennialist themes within QAnon discourse. A posting frequency analysis of 37,782 tweets and 9,023 posts determines how QAnon adherents participate in precipitating a millennialist apocalypse, and how they can be disrupted. The results suggest that Australian QAnon communities integrate national themes and narratives to ground discourse in the Australian context, and communicate far-right tenets to identify a complex, interconnected left-wing deep state, that must be combatted through a coming apocalypse that QAnon adherents will participate in. This research develops new understandings of how far-right ideology can mould to fit different national contexts, can covertly manifest in discussion topics that are not explicitly far-right, and shows that millennialist movements can be both accelerated and disrupted using social media.
In this study we explore the so-called Internet aesthetics, labels applied on heterogenous collections of materials and activities by Internet users, which are discussed and constructed primarily on ...the Internet. We conducted qualitative content analyses on entries of AestheticsWiki, as well as interviews with 11 Internet aesthetics enthusiasts. In contrast to established notions such as genre, style or subculture, Internet aesthetics are characterized by few conventions, but seem fundamentally open for individual interpretations. We therefore theorize that they primarily serve as toolkits, through which individuals give sense and coherence to personal experience, in line with a situation-specific self-image. In doing so, they contribute to a reflexive myth of the self.
The World Health Organization has not only signaled the health risks of COVID-19, but also labeled the situation as infodemic, due to the amount of information, true and false, circulating around ...this topic. Research shows that, in social media, falsehood is shared far more than evidence-based information. However, there is less research analyzing the circulation of false and evidence-based information during health emergencies. Thus, the present study aims at shedding new light on the type of tweets that circulated on Twitter around the COVID-19 outbreak for two days, in order to analyze how false and true information was shared. To that end, 1000 tweets have been analyzed. Results show that false information is tweeted more but retweeted less than science-based evidence or fact-checking tweets, while science-based evidence and fact-checking tweets capture more engagement than mere facts. These findings bring relevant insights to inform public health policies.
This discussion paper is aimed to map content analysis in the qualitative paradigm and explore common methodological challenges. We discuss phenomenological descriptions of manifest content and ...hermeneutical interpretations of latent content. We demonstrate inductive, deductive, and abductive approaches to qualitative content analysis, and elaborate on the level of abstraction and degree of interpretation used in constructing categories, descriptive themes, and themes of meaning. With increased abstraction and interpretation comes an increased challenge to demonstrate the credibility and authenticity of the analysis. A key issue is to show the logic in how categories and themes are abstracted, interpreted, and connected to the aim and to each other. Qualitative content analysis is an autonomous method and can be used at varying levels of abstraction and interpretation.
•Content analysis has changed from a counting game to a more interpretative approach.•A key issue is to differentiate between abstraction level and interpretation degree.•High abstraction and interpretation challenge the trustworthiness of the research.
In diesem Beitrag führen wir in den ersten Teil der Schwerpunktausgabe zur qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse (QIA) ein. In einem ersten Schritt beschreiben wir die Überlegungen, die dem Schwerpunkt ...zugrunde liegen, und erläutern die Unterteilung in zwei Teilausgaben. Anschließend geben wir einen Überblick über zentrale Fragestellungen in der gegenwärtigen Methodenliteratur zur QIA und identifizieren vier Kernbereiche: 1. die Konzeptualisierung der QIA als hybride Kombination quantitativer und qualitativer Elemente oder als genuin qualitative Methode; 2. die Relation zwischen dem deutschsprachigen und dem internationalen Methodendiskurs; 3. die Frage, ob sich theoretische und/oder epistemologische Grundlagen der QIA identifizieren lassen; 4. fehlende Transparenz bei der Dokumentation von Anwendungen der Methode. In einem nächsten Schritt gehen wir auf den Prozess der Erstellung der Schwerpunktausgabe ein und erläutern die Struktur und die Zusammenhänge zwischen den Beiträgen. In dem vorliegenden ersten Teil legen wir den Fokus auf Artikel zur Konzeptualisierung der QIA sowie auf Beiträge, in denen Herausforderungen bei der Methodenanwendung und Lösungsansätze beschrieben werden. Auf dieser Grundlage kommen wir zu dem Schluss, dass sich in der gegenwärtigen Methodenliteratur durchaus unterschiedliche Konzeptionen der QIA identifizieren lassen. Dies spiegelt sich auch in der Vielfalt der Herausforderungen bei der Anwendung der Methode wider und in den unterschiedlichen kreativen Umgangsweisen mit diesen Herausforderungen, wie sie von den Autor_innen dieser ersten Teilausgabe beschrieben werden.
Social science related disciplines, methods, concepts, and topics remain underutilized, and perhaps underappreciated, in contemporary energy studies research. To make this case, the article offers ...both quantitative and qualitative data. It begins with the quantitative part, providing a content analysis of 4444 research articles involving 9549 authors and 90,079 references (from a smaller subsample) published in three leading energy journals from 1999 to 2013. Within this vast sample, only 19.6 percent of authors reported training in any social science discipline, and less than 0.3 percent of authors reported disciplinary affiliations in areas such as history, psychology, anthropology, and communication studies. Only 12.6 percent of articles utilized qualitative methods and less than 5 percent of citations were to social science and humanities journals. The article then shifts to the qualitative part, where it proposes a variety of methodological and topical areas, along with 75 research questions, that could deepen and broaden energy research, connected in part to all of the articles in this special (inaugural) issue of Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS). Readers from all disciplines are encouraged to read it—especially the parts dealing with areas and concepts outside of their own areas of expertise.
In 2015, Europe faced the arrival of over 1.25 million refugees fleeing from war-affected countries. The public mainly learned about this issue through domestic media. Through the use of ...computer-assisted content analysis, this study identifies the most dominant frames employed in the coverage of refugee and asylum issues between January 2015 and January 2016 in six Austrian newspapers (N = 10,606), particularly focusing on potential differences between quality and tabloid media, and on frame variations over time. The findings reveal that, apart from administrative aspects of coping with the arrivals, established narratives of security threat and economisation are most prominent. Humanitarianism frames and background information on the refugees' situation are provided to a lesser extent. During the most intense phases of the crisis, the framing patterns of tabloid and quality media become highly similar. Media coverage broadens to multiple prominent frames as issue salience sharply increases, and then 'crystallises' into a more narrow set. In sum, the results confirm a predominance of stereotyped interpretations of refugee and asylum issues, and thus persisting journalistic routines in both, tabloid and quality media, even in times of a major political and humanitarian crisis.
Although grounded theory and qualitative content analysis are similar in some respects, they differ as well; yet the differences between the two have rarely been made clear in the literature. The ...purpose of this article was to clarify ambiguities and reduce confusion about grounded theory and qualitative content analysis by identifying similarities and differences in the two based on a literature review and critical reflection on the authors’ own research. Six areas of difference emerged: (a) background and philosophical base, (b) unique characteristics of each method, (c) goals and rationale of each method, (d) data analysis process, (e) outcomes of the research, and (f) evaluation of trustworthiness. This article provides knowledge that can assist researchers and students in the selection of appropriate research methods for their inquiries.
Green technology innovation has received continuous attention from the business sector in recent years, yet few studies have examined the internal mechanisms and contingent conditions that link green ...technology innovation to a firm's financial performance. Using data from 209 listed companies that belong to heavily polluting manufacturing industries, collected via the content analysis method, we find that green process innovation has a positive impact on green product innovation, and that both green process innovation and green product innovation can improve a firm's financial performance. We also find that green product innovation mediates the relationship between green process innovation and a firm's financial performance, and that a firm's green image moderates the relationship between green product innovation and financial performance. However, our study shows that the moderating effect of green subsidies on the relationship between green product innovation and a firm's financial performance is not supported. Based on these findings, we provide several recommendations for managers and government entities to effectively implement green technology innovation.
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