Believing in Credibility Measures: Reviewing Credibility Measures in Media Research From 1951 to 2018

Authors

  • Anina Hanimann University of Lucerne Department of Political Science
  • Andri Heimann Center for Democracy Studies Aarau
  • Lea Hellmueller City, University of London
  • Damian Trilling University of Amsterdam Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences Department of Communication Science

Keywords:

media credibility, source credibility, message credibility, measurement

Abstract

Although credibility has been a key concept in communication research for decades, there still is no consensus on its conceptualization and measurement. Indeed, scholars have criticized the lack of theory-driven approaches, conceptual inconsistencies between sub-constructs of credibility, and the problems of applying them to the contemporary media environment. This literature review of quantitative studies of credibility published between 1951 and 2018 explores state-of-the-art definitions and measures of credibility (N = 259). While most studies make a conceptual distinction between source, media, and message credibility, measurement scales do not follow this traditional trinity. Instead, we propose moving toward a dual-credibility model.

Author Biographies

Anina Hanimann, University of Lucerne Department of Political Science

Dr. des.+41 21 310 17 91

Andri Heimann, Center for Democracy Studies Aarau

MA+41 70 819 57 65

Lea Hellmueller, City, University of London

Lecturer+44 (0)20 7040 3124

Damian Trilling, University of Amsterdam Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences Department of Communication Science

Assistant professor+31 627 827 904

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Published

2022-12-29

Issue

Vol. 17 (2023)

Section

Articles

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