Theme 3: Research and theory

Organization Studies (OS) is a journal with global reach that aims at increasing the understanding of organizations, organizing and the organized in and between societies. The journal has a multidisciplinary approach, and the research is rooted in social sciences. It was first published in 1980, and publishes research with both a theoretical and empirical approach. The impact factor amounts to 2.798. 

The research paper "Narrative Policy Framework: The Influence of Media Policy Narratives on Public Opinion" was published in Policy & Politics in May 2011. The journals impact factor amounts to 1.200.

The aim of the study is to understand to what extent media policy narratives are effective at influencing public opinion and how this influence is manifested. Are policy narratives strengthening or changing readers' opinions? The purpose is exploratory and the authors want to advance quantitative research by employing a quasi-experimental design to the study. The research employs media reports concerning snow mobile access to Yellowstone National Park. A pre- and a post-test survey was administrated to 194 students. The sample size is a major weakness of the research, as the selection is small. The participating students were enrolled at an introductory course in American Government. Using students as a sample group is also problematic when it comes to generalizing to the public. When the data derives from a student population, this cannot be done. 

The pre-test aims at collecting baseline opinion data. One out of two articles that constitutes of different policy narratives from two advocacy coalitions were used as treatment. After the treatment, a post-test survey was carried out measuring changes in a) policy belief, b) policy outcome preferences and c) interest group alignment. Four different audience characteristics were also used as measures of change in a) familiarity, b) rural-urban residents, c) newcomer-old timer and d) political leaning.

The results show that for each of the four audiences, there were both statistically significant and non-significant results regarding changes in reader opinion. When read by audiences with similar opinions, the result is significantly strengthening conformably opinions of the reader. The research also shows that there is a significant strengthening of opinion in the opposite direction of the students previously opinion.

Sutton states in the paper What Theories is Not: ”Theory is the answer to the queries of why”. In the paper, theory is described to emphasize the nature of causal relationships and the aim is to understand the systematic reasons for an outcome. According to Weick, a good theory explains, predicts and delights. In the paper The Nature of Theory in Information Systems, written by Gregor, the picture is more nuanced. How you perceive theory depends on which field of conduct your research is attributing, and depending on whether you consider yourself as a logical positivist or if you are devoted to interpretivism or hermeneutics. That might be considered too much information, but the point is to paint a picture of theories as abstract entities. However, the aim of using a theory is to ”describe, explain and enhance the understanding of the word”. In some cases, theories can also be used to predict what will happen in the future, and create a base for further action. Mentioning existing theories and their references without connecting it to your research is not theory. To show data is a way to show which empirical patterns that were observed, however data does not explain why they were observed, as theory does. List of variables, diagrams or hypotheses are neither no be seen as theory.

The theories used in the research paper questioning whether public narratives can influence public opinion, are the national theory of federalism and the compact theory of federalism. According to the theory classification made by Gregor, the paper can be categorized under the Theory for Explaining and Predicting. 

”EP theory implies both understanding of underlying causes and prediction, as well as description of theoretical constructs and the relationships among them.”

The benefits of using EP theory is its grand approach of taking on a wide question. I perceive that the writing could be a bit more rigorous and strict, and I would prefer if less hypotheses had been used. I also feel that the authors could have emphasized a bit more on the causal relations of the factors measured as well as the possible problem of self-assessing factors such as familiarity to a subject, since it arbitrary. One overall problem with the research, which is also mentioned by the authors, is the possibilities to adapt it to a real world context. Even if the policy narratives are shown to have influence on public opinion in a controlled experimental setting, citizens might not want to be exposed to opinions and sources that directly oppose what they already believe?