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Examining user comments for deliberative democracy: A corpus-driven analysis of the climate change debate online

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Examining user comments for deliberative democracy: A corpus-driven analysis of the climate change debate online. / Collins, Luke; Nerlich, Brigitte.
In: Environmental Communication, Vol. 9, No. 2, 03.04.2015, p. 189-207.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Collins, L & Nerlich, B 2015, 'Examining user comments for deliberative democracy: A corpus-driven analysis of the climate change debate online', Environmental Communication, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 189-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2014.981560

APA

Collins, L., & Nerlich, B. (2015). Examining user comments for deliberative democracy: A corpus-driven analysis of the climate change debate online. Environmental Communication, 9(2), 189-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2014.981560

Vancouver

Collins L, Nerlich B. Examining user comments for deliberative democracy: A corpus-driven analysis of the climate change debate online. Environmental Communication. 2015 Apr 3;9(2):189-207. Epub 2014 Dec 6. doi: 10.1080/17524032.2014.981560

Author

Collins, Luke ; Nerlich, Brigitte. / Examining user comments for deliberative democracy : A corpus-driven analysis of the climate change debate online. In: Environmental Communication. 2015 ; Vol. 9, No. 2. pp. 189-207.

Bibtex

@article{5d04341df2754b60a61fd88de01179e3,
title = "Examining user comments for deliberative democracy: A corpus-driven analysis of the climate change debate online",
abstract = "The public perception of climate change is characterized by heterogeneity, even polarization. Deliberative discussion is regarded by some as key to overcoming polarization and engaging various publics with the complex issue of climate change. In this context, online engagement with news stories is seen as a space for a new {"}deliberative democratic potential{"} to emerge. This article examines aspects of deliberation in user comment threads in response to articles on climate change taken from the Guardian. {"}Deliberation{"} is understood through the concepts {"}reciprocity{"}, {"}topicality{"}, and {"}argumentation{"}. We demonstrate how corpus analysis can be used to examine the ways in which online debates around climate change may create or deny opportunities for multiple voices and deliberation. Results show that whilst some aspects of online discourse discourage alternative viewpoints and demonstrate {"}incivility{"}, user comments also show potential for engaging in dialog, and for high levels of interaction.",
keywords = "climate change, corpus linguistics, deliberation; user comments, online journalism",
author = "Luke Collins and Brigitte Nerlich",
year = "2015",
month = apr,
day = "3",
doi = "10.1080/17524032.2014.981560",
language = "English",
volume = "9",
pages = "189--207",
journal = "Environmental Communication",
issn = "1752-4032",
publisher = "Taylor and Francis Ltd.",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Examining user comments for deliberative democracy

T2 - A corpus-driven analysis of the climate change debate online

AU - Collins, Luke

AU - Nerlich, Brigitte

PY - 2015/4/3

Y1 - 2015/4/3

N2 - The public perception of climate change is characterized by heterogeneity, even polarization. Deliberative discussion is regarded by some as key to overcoming polarization and engaging various publics with the complex issue of climate change. In this context, online engagement with news stories is seen as a space for a new "deliberative democratic potential" to emerge. This article examines aspects of deliberation in user comment threads in response to articles on climate change taken from the Guardian. "Deliberation" is understood through the concepts "reciprocity", "topicality", and "argumentation". We demonstrate how corpus analysis can be used to examine the ways in which online debates around climate change may create or deny opportunities for multiple voices and deliberation. Results show that whilst some aspects of online discourse discourage alternative viewpoints and demonstrate "incivility", user comments also show potential for engaging in dialog, and for high levels of interaction.

AB - The public perception of climate change is characterized by heterogeneity, even polarization. Deliberative discussion is regarded by some as key to overcoming polarization and engaging various publics with the complex issue of climate change. In this context, online engagement with news stories is seen as a space for a new "deliberative democratic potential" to emerge. This article examines aspects of deliberation in user comment threads in response to articles on climate change taken from the Guardian. "Deliberation" is understood through the concepts "reciprocity", "topicality", and "argumentation". We demonstrate how corpus analysis can be used to examine the ways in which online debates around climate change may create or deny opportunities for multiple voices and deliberation. Results show that whilst some aspects of online discourse discourage alternative viewpoints and demonstrate "incivility", user comments also show potential for engaging in dialog, and for high levels of interaction.

KW - climate change

KW - corpus linguistics

KW - deliberation; user comments

KW - online journalism

U2 - 10.1080/17524032.2014.981560

DO - 10.1080/17524032.2014.981560

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84928767595

VL - 9

SP - 189

EP - 207

JO - Environmental Communication

JF - Environmental Communication

SN - 1752-4032

IS - 2

ER -