Mapping the field of communication technology research in Asia: content analysis and text mining of SSCI journal articles 1995–2014

ABSTRACT

Given the critical role of communication technologies in Asia’s robust economic, cultural, and technological performance in the current century, this study maps the landscape of communication technology research in Asia of the recent two decades. Using a combination of content analysis and text mining-based semantic network analysis, this paper reviews 272 articles on Asian communication technology published in SSCI communication journals between 1995 and 2014. Our results show that East Asia was the most studied region in this field. Internet was the most popular keyword, and it was also the most studied communication technology followed by mobile phone, information communication technologies, and social media. Adopting a variety of methodologies and balancing between qualitative and quantitative, most of these studies took the psychological micro-level scope. When it comes to technology–context relation, the majority of research took the technology determinism perspective. Asian-based scholars leaned to technology determinism and are more likely to see technology as a change force for Asia, whereas the Western-based counterparts viewed Asian context as a filter and took macro-level scope in their research more often. The technology–context relationship and regional diversity discussed in this paper also shed light on future studies to make theoretical contributions to this important research field.

KEYWORDS:

• Communication technology
• Asia
• content analysis
• semantic network analysis
• text mining

Notes on contributors

Pei Zheng is an assistant professor in the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College. Her research interests lay in the intersection of political communication, new media technologies and social impacts of media messages. Her research uses multi-methods to explore how information and opinion disseminate through digital media networks, and the broader ramification in politics and society.

Xuan Liang holds her Ph.D. (2015) in mass communications from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research examines the intersection of science, media, and society. She is particularly interested in media representations of scientific and environmental issues, scientists’ public communication activities, and the role of new media and individual’s values in the formation of public opinion about scientific and environmental issues.

Guanxiong Huang (Ph.D., Michigan State University, USA) is an assistant professor in the Department of Media and Communication at City University of Hong Kong. Her research interests are in the uses and effects of digital media technologies in persuasive communication, with a focus on the effectiveness of cross-platform advertising campaigns.

Xun ‘Sunny’ Liu (Ph.D. Michigan State University, 2008) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Communication Studies, California State University, Stanislaus. Her research focuses on social impact of new media, international communications, and mobile technology.