Journalism Education as Scientific Education: Research University Students’ Engagement with Knowledge

Figures & data

Table 1. Social commitment in the students’ speech.

CATEGORY OF SOCIAL COMMITMENT	CONTENT IN THE STUDENTS’ SPEECH
Commitment to journalism ethics	Collective guidelines for journalists in Finland Objectivity Public service Pursuit of truth Rights of interviewees Watchdog vs journalistic exercise of power
Commitment to the operational environment of journalism	Capability to act in a troubled and developing field Commitment to journalistic ideals amid the hard realities of the industry Commitment to the legacy of journalism
Commitment to the principal value of scientific research	Scientific research is considered to provide a larger framework than journalism Scientific research is considered to bear an important role in society Scientific thinking is considered a valuable skill
Commitment to the practice of scientific research	Argumentation Research process Research ethics Scientific knowledge
Commitment to socially esteemed dispositions	E.g. courage, critical attitude, curiosity, swiftness, thoroughness The esteemed dispositions are considered to often apply to both journalism practice and scientific research
Commitment to society	Knowledge of social realities is considered critically important to journalists Social realities are seen as targets of investigation for journalists and researchers alike

Table 2. Theoretical knowledge in the students’ speech.

CATEGORY OF THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE	CONTENT IN THE STUDENTS’ SPEECH
Research themes	Digitalisation Future of journalism History of journalism, Ideals of journalism Innovations in journalism Journalistic genres Journalistic work Journalistic products Journalists Media concepts and formats Media economy Norms of journalism Platforms Social media Technology Transformation of journalism Values of journalism
Established concepts	Affect Agenda-setting Audience Discourse Effects Frame Mediatisation Message Objectivity Reception Representation Transmission The public sphere and democracy were mentioned once
Methods	Autoethnography Discourse analyses Interviews Surveys Text analyses Theoretical research

Table 3. Integrative knowledge in the students’ speech.

CATEGORY OF INTEGRATIVE KNOWLEDGE	CONTENT IN THE STUDENTS’ SPEECH
Bridging diverse domains in studies	Bridging theoretical and practical course modules in journalism Bridging the major subject (journalism) and minor subjects Bridging course modules, informal encounters inside and outside the university, and work experience in media houses
Considering theoretical knowledge in journalistic contexts	Considering journalistic ideals and their fallibility in journalistic work Considering ideological contradictions in journalism, such as the pursuit of truth versus commercial market logic Considering journalistic work in large social contexts
Applying the scientific research process to journalistic work	Applying the scientific research process to journalistic processes, such as ideation, narrowing, and obtaining background knowledge Applying the scientific research process to the pursuit of salient journalistic ideals, such as objectivity and critical attitude Applying the scientific research process generally to journalistic work to think and deliberate in wider contexts and from diverse perspectives

Table 4. Reflective knowledge in the students’ speech.

CATEGORY OF REFLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE	CONTENT IN THE STUDENTS’ SPEECH
Ethical reflection in large social contexts	Reflecting upon journalism ethics in large social contexts, e.g., the viability of quality journalism and the collective pursuit of truth in a knowledge-driven society
Evaluative reflection on the journalistic process	Evaluating one’s own standpoints as well as standpoints of informants and sources Evaluating contradictory pieces of information or opinions Verifying knowledge claims Identifying manipulation efforts by diverse actors
Increasingly reflective journalistic self	Receiving, even looking for, critique and feedback without a sense of failure Exposing oneself to widening diversity and pluralism Growing in journalistic responsibility
Lesser reflective strategies regarding scientific content knowledge	Rather careless knowledge searching strategies regarding research results

Table

	University #1	University #2
BACHELOR’S DEGREE
Basic studies (25 ECTS credits)Completed during the first year	Joint basic studied with other communication and media programmes including contents from these research areasAn introductory course to research skills and methods (5 cr.)	Joint basic studies with communication students, e.g., Ethics and Norms of Communication and Journalism, Transitions in Media, Communication and PersuasionIncludes an introduction to scientific thinking included in the orientation course.
Intermediate studies(70/60 ECTS credits)Completed during years 1–3	Practical courses (50 cr.), e.g., news journalism, visual journalism; a course on visual analyses and a course aiming at integrating professional and scientific approaches to journalism.Internship (5 cr.) integrated with a lecture course on the journalism profession (5 cr.)Research studies (15 cr.): “Introduction to journalism research”, Bachelor seminar and thesis	Practical courses (30 cr.), e.g., news journalism, video & audio journalism, and feature journalismInternship (5 cr.)Research studies (15 cr.):“Research methods”, Bachelor seminar and thesis“Theories in Media and Journalism” (5 cr.)
Other studies in BA DegreeCompleted during years 1–3	Other studies according to one’s own choice: one study module (20 cr.) of a minor subject is required.	Internationalisation studies (10 cr.): student exchange or courses on intercultural communicationOther studies according to one’s own choice: one study module (min. 20 cr.) of a minor subject is required
Common studies(20 cr. /17 cr.)Completed during years 1–3	Language studies, digital skills and basics in statistics, orientation to scientific thinking	Language studies and writing skills
MASTER’S DEGREE
Advanced studies(85 cr./76 cr.)	Journalism workshops: specialising studies, developing journalistic workTheoretical groundings (10 cr.)Professional projects (5 cr.)Research studies (50 cr.): “Methods in journalism studies” (5 cr.), Master’s seminar (10 cr.), and Master’s thesis (35 cr.)	Obligatory courses in journalistic writing and journalistic media professionalism (10 cr.)Specialisation courses (25 cr.), e.g., investigative journalism and data journalism, drone journalism, cross-media practicesResearch studies (41 cr.), “Advanced Approach to Methods” (6 cr.), Master’s seminar (5 cr.), and Master’s thesis (30 cr.)
Other studies	Other studies according to one’s own choice	Other studies according to one’s own choice

Data Availability Statement

The data set is stored by Tampere University. However, due to the ethical principles concerning the consent of the participants, the data set is not available for external users.