← Volume 9: Algorithms and Communication

 

Algorithms as Research Objects for Communication Science

Christina Schumann & Monika Taddicken
 

Berlin, 2021
DOI 10.48541/dcr.v9.1 (SSOAR)

Abstract: The political, societal or economic impact of algorithms is seen as one of the most debated issues in recent history. In this introduction to the special issue Algorithms and Communication, we elaborate on the importance of algorithms as research objects for communication science. We discuss why algorithms are such an intensively discussed topic. We describe different kinds of “communicating algorithms” that affect processes of political, social and interpersonal communication. In this context, we elaborate on new research questions for communication sciences that arise out of the importance of algorithms. Finally, we conclude with a call for a transformation of traditional models of mass communication. Particularly, we highlight the necessity to systematically describe and define the role of algorithms as “autonomous” senders in communication processes.
 

 

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Dr. Christina Schumann is Senior Researcher at the Department of “Empirical Media Research and Political Communication” at the Institute of Media and Communication Studies at Technische Universität Ilmenau

Prof. Dr. Monika Taddicken heads the Institute for Communication Science at Technische Universität Braunschweig

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Schumann, C., & Taddicken, M. (2021). Algorithms as Research Objects for Communication Science. In M. Taddicken & C. Schumann (Eds.), Algorithms and Communication (S. 7-23). https://doi.org/10.48541/dcr.v9.1

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