Different Dimensions of Communicative Exchanges in Online Political Talk: Measuring Reciprocity Through Structures, Behaviors, and Discourses

Authors

  • Tariq Choucair Queensland University of Technology
  • Rousiley C. M. Maia Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Keywords:

reciprocity, interactivity, political talk, online debates, mixed methods

Abstract

Reciprocity, a foundational feature to ensure the quality of communicative exchanges, is a subject of extensive investigation in empirical research. However, the absence of a singular and precise conceptualization has resulted in diverse operationalizations across studies. This article identifies and categorizes three distinct approaches to understand and measure reciprocity in online political discourse: (1) by examining interactional structures within discussions, (2) by analyzing users’ communicative behaviors, and (3) by exploring the discourses expressed by users. Each form of conceptualization evokes different measurement strategies. By unpacking these components and systematizing the three types, this article offers an integrative analytical framework. To illustrate this possibility, we investigate discussions on Facebook about abortion in Brazil between 2013 and 2019. Our findings emphasize the significance of each dimension and underscore how the absence of one may lead to misdiagnoses regarding the level of reciprocity within a discussion. This nuanced understanding of reciprocity has crucial implications for researchers aiming to navigate the intricacies of online political discourse, facilitating a deeper comprehension of variations in listening and mutual communicative exchange dynamics.

Author Biographies

Tariq Choucair, Queensland University of Technology

Tariq Choucair is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC), working in the Digital Publics research program on Professor Axel Bruns’ Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship project “Determining the Drivers and Dynamics of Partisanship and Polarisation in Online Public Debate”. Tariq holds a PhD in Communication from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte, Brazil). His research focuses on online political talk and deep disagreements, especially about political minority rights, with an emphasis on the Global South; and methods for analyzing these discussions, with an emphasis on frame analysis and computational methods for text analysis. His work was published in Political Studies, Political Research Exchange, E-Compós and other Brazilian journals. He is one of the authors of the Deliberative System and Interconnected Media in Times of Uncertainty (Palgrave, 2023) and one of contributors of Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2022). In 2020, he was a visiting researcher at The Center for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra.

Rousiley C. M. Maia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Rousiley C.M. Maia is Professor of Political Communication at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. She is a researcher of National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), coordinator of the Research Group in Media and the Public Sphere (EME / UFMG) and member of the Institute of Democracy and Democratization of the Communication (INCT/DSI). She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science (Nottingham University, UK) and is one of the authors of Deliberative System and Interconnected Media in Time of Uncertainty (Palgrave, 2023), Deliberation across Deeply Divided Societies (with J. Steiner, M. C. Jaramillo, and S. Mamelli, Cambridge University Press, 2017), Recognition and the Media (Palgrave, 2014), Deliberation, the Media, and Political Talk (Hampton Press, 2012). Her work has been published in journals such as European Political Science Review, Political Studies; Policy Science; Journal of Public Deliberation, Human Communication Research, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, International Press Politics, Representation, Journal of Political Power.

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Published

2024-02-14

Issue

Vol. 18 (2024)

Section

Articles

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