Exploring the Prevalence of Agenda-Setting Theory in Africa-Focused Research, 2000–2020

Abstract

This study adopts meta-analysis and text mining approaches to systematically explore the prevalence of agenda setting theory (AST) in Africa-focused publications indexed in high-impact databases from 2000 to 2020. It aims to evaluate the usage frequency of AST in Africa-focused studies, the dominant perspectives explored in these studies, the dominant communication medium of reference, the dominant academic disciplines, the dominant regions of focus in Africa, frequent keywords within these studies, and the authors’ institutional affiliations. The findings revealed a dearth of quality literature from 2000 to 2008, after which at least one paper was published each year from 2007 to 2020, with the exception of 2016. The research showed that media scholars (51%) published more papers, followed by scholars from political sciences (12%), ethnic studies (12%), public health (9%), development studies (6%), and public administration (6%). Although many papers were about South Africa (33%), other dominant countries of focus were Ghana (18%), Nigeria (12%), and Kenya (9%). The qualitative review revealed the major perspectives of the AST- related papers to be issues of political advocacy, governance, and social activism; rural, national, and regional transformation and development; and social representations and framing. The medium of communication most often referenced for agenda setting was the newspaper.

Keywords:

• agenda setting
• communication theory
• research
• Africa
• mass media