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Web Survey Bibliography

Title News Discrepancy and Information Search: The Effects of News Slants on Audiences' Information Search Patterns Over the Internet
Author Hwang, H., Heo, K., Lee, S.-Y.
Year 2005
Access date 28.04.2005
Abstract

This study examined how people in feeling of alienation from mainstream media message consciously engage in information search through the Internet, by introducing the concept of "media dissociation"- the discrepancy between mainstream media portrayals and an individual's own view on an issue. Our analysis focused particularly on individuals' information seeking behavior over the Internet, in doing so we proposed that the more individuals dissociate their views from media portrayals, the more they are engaged in the issue-related information search. Using an experimental design embedded within a Web survey, we exposed Korean college students to mainstream news stories that were manipulated in slants on the deployment of South Korean troops in Iraq. The manipulation focused on whether the mainstream news story was supporting for or opposing to the issue. Following the exposure to the mainstream news stories, accessible 10 online news articles were offered in a Web-style format page that presented hyperlinks with the headlines and leads of the articles. Research participants were instructed to follow their own personal interest in choosing and reading the articles. The headlines and leads of the articles were adjusted to show the tone of the article clearly so that readers recognized the slant of the article easily. The respondents' hyperlinks usage was monitored and recorded into a log file. The results showed that the respondents in dissonant news story condition read the news articles more in both supporting for and opposing to their own views than those in consonant condition. In addition, the respondents in dissonant condition were attracted to news articles that were consistent with their views significantly more than the respondents in consonant condition. The further implication of the study was discussed.

Access/Direct link Conference program
Year of publication2005
Bibliographic typeConferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
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Web survey bibliography - 2005 (76)

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