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From left: Dr. Gregory Perreault, Dr. Mildred Perreault, Dr. Janelle Applequist, and Dr. Fan Yang.

Zimmerman School faculty present research papers during International Communication Association conference

• Michelle Holden, USF College of Arts and Sciences
• August 29, 2024

Accomplishments , Research

Four faculty members from the Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications recently presented research papers during the 74th Annual International Communication Association (ICA), which took place in June. The ICA aims to advance the scholarly study of human communication by encouraging and facilitating excellence in academic research worldwide.

Dr. Gregory Perreault , associate professor, presented a paper on joy in journalism.

“A lot of research in journalism studies is really sad: exploring audience hostility, difficult labor practices, and why journalists leave the field. But what I find to be more intriguing is why journalists stay. Noteworthy in all that scholarship is that they’re talking to still-working journalists,” he said. “My research team and I have a data set exploring particular pillars of joy—like generosity, humor, forgiveness—in the life experiences of journalists. Over the next year, we hope to look in particular at how journalists experience generosity (and offer it).”

Dr. Mildred Perreault , assistant professor, highlighted her work focusing on rural journalism and news and disaster communication ecology.

“It is important to share work at the international level so that you can learn more about other countries and also gain a broader understanding of our field. It also helps one to connect with new collaborators,” she explained. “International engagement, like presenting at ICA, is something that distinguishes USF scholars from other scholars at smaller universities, but also helps it align with peer AAU schools.”

She also shared that there were additional networking and engagement opportunities beyond paper presentations.

“I was also part of a group that examined efforts to engage underrepresented groups in academic scholarship about media and communication. That was a great opportunity to have deeper conversations about how to bring new voices into academic spaces.”

She adds that she received some great feedback after her paper was accepted, as well as during the conference, that she can edit for submission to a publication.

“Often the research process is lonely, but conferences make it much more engaging and collaborative. For example, with my work on rural journalism, I was able to participate in a panel discussion with several other scholars in this area. Since it is a niche area, it is a great opportunity to connect with media scholars all over the world who are studying something smaller communities,” she said.

Dr. Fan Yang , assistant professor, and Dr. Janelle Applequist , associate professor, presented their co-authored paper on a meta-analytic and scoping review of digital data-driven advertising.

“Presenting papers at this conference to a wider audience is crucial for several reasons. It provides an excellent opportunity to disseminate our findings and ideas, allowing us to collect constructive feedback from diverse perspectives and seek new collaborations that can enhance the quality and impact of my research. It also aligns with USF's strategic planning goals of engaging broader audiences and furthering internationalization efforts,” Yang explained.

“Presenting our work to a national/international audience contributes to USF's branding and fosters cross-cultural academic exchanges,” she added. “These presentations serve as a platform to showcase The Zimmerman School's cutting-edge research and innovative approaches in advertising and mass communication. This visibility not only enhances the school’s reputation, but also attracts potential students, faculty, and research partners, ultimately strengthening our position as a leader in the field.”

For Applequist, the experience of presenting research at these venues serves as a critical "first step" of her scholarly process. It provides an opportunity to receive and apply feedback from audience members before submitting a study for journal publication. 

“The diverse perspectives offered by colleagues from various fields, institutions, countries, and cultures foster a transdisciplinary approach that significantly enhances the quality and relevance of my (and my team's) work,” she said.

“Feedback provided by an audience member after Dr. Fan Yang and I presented our co-authored study resulted in great conversation regarding how the rigor of our methods (a meta-analytic and scoping review of digital data-driven advertising) could be adapted for more niche areas (e.g., direct-to-consumer advertising in the pharmaceutical industry). These types of studies would serve to inform the field of advertising while providing potential industry partners with critical information for enhancing their daily and annual operations.”

“As a proud member of the USF community, I am committed to publishing high-quality research that showcases our commitment to research excellence. I am very fortunate to be working alongside great colleagues and team members, focused next on grant-funded projects, including a collaboration with BayCare on social determinants of health, and a large-scale NIH-funded study where colleagues and I seek to enhance communication processes throughout clinical trials to address participant retention,” Applequist said.

Yang says she hopes to next deepen exploration of AI's impact on media consumption and human-machine communication.

“We plan to investigate the individual and social implications of AI-driven communicative technologies, as well as expand our studies on AI-powered social robots using cutting-edge tools available in our Media Research Center of The Zimmerman School. Our ultimate goal is to position The Zimmerman School at the forefront of AI research in media research, providing valuable insights for both academia and industry as we navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-enhanced media ecosystems.”

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Main navigation, microsoft copilot: compliance and ethical considerations.

The University of Utah has approved the use of Microsoft Copilot, though users should always log in to the university's instance for data and legal protections and follow guidelines.

Since OpenAI’s introduction of ChatGPT in November 2022 , a “ space race ” of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools began, with companies and organizations rolling out new large language models (LLMs) and promising to transform work and creativity. Concerns about algorithmic bias in automated decision-making , legal challenges about copyright and fair use of training material , more opportunities for malicious actors to breach enterprise or personal data, as well as AI hallucinations or nonsensical or inaccurate outputs, however, have left users uncertain about whether the tools are safe to use.

Even Microsoft Copilot , the only commercial generative AI tool approved for use at the University of Utah , comes with risk. By following some key guidelines and behaviors, however, the U’s instance of Copilot can help draft documents, summarize information, analyze data, and even provide a few laughs in a safer, more accurate and credible manner.

Powered by ChatGPT-4, and DALL-E for images, Copilot ingests a user’s prompt, transmits it outside of the university’s self-regulated IT environment, and accesses generative AI systems in Microsoft’s cloud to provide a response, also called an output. In the simplest terms, Copilot evaluates the prompt against LLM training data, considers context cues from the prompt, and generates an output using sophisticated mathematical reasoning. Copilot’s AI systems are regularly tuned, adjusted, and updated to enhance accuracy and decrease occurrences of bias and hallucination.

Critical legal protections are in place when using a verified university account (they are not present when using a personal Copilot account or open-source LLMs), so it’s important that users log in with their U credentials before using the tool . These protections are paramount because Microsoft is a “prompt processor” — when users disclose or share restricted data , it leaves the university’s IT environment and is processed or accessed by third parties, including Microsoft and its subcontractors, which may violate law, expose trade secrets, or infringe on trademarks, or risk intellectual property.

According to U regulations, users are required to limit prompts to approved data, meaning nonspecific or nonidentifiable, publicly available information.

Users are prohibited from disclosing protected health information (PHI) because certain legally required contracts, such as a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Business Associate Agreements , are not in place under the U’s Microsoft Copilot license. Users also should never input other legally restricted data, such as confidential information, student data, privileged communications, trade secrets, personally identifiable information like health or financial data, or unpublished intellectual property.

With these cautions in mind, students, faculty, and staff can experiment with Copilot’s prompt engineering with little risk. When logged in with a U account, commercial data protections provide certain IT security and privacy configurations, delete prompt data, prohibit the transfer of ownership of prompt data or outputs to third parties, and prohibit Microsoft from using user input to train the underlying LLM(s).

When using Microsoft Copilot, consider compliance, ethics, communication, and editing — human behaviors that a machine can’t replicate.

Compliance is a community effort and builds an important foundation for using technology.

Start by using university-approved services, such as Copilot, and university-managed devices to ensure data protection is enabled and IT security configurations are in place. Next, understand the nature of the data you are interacting with before disclosing it to a third party, such as Microsoft. This includes understanding the expectations around the handling of that data. Certain categories of data, such as restricted data, can lead to state or federal regulatory violations or civil legal liability.

Ethics around using and developing skilled (and perhaps eventually sentient) AI tools is complex, with competing views and strong opinions. People are grappling with this across the globe, including scholars who’re publishing ethical frameworks . When considering generative AI at a university, some topics include its place in pedagogical, clinical, and workplace optimization, as well as data usage and governance.

Some tips for ethical use include:

• Accessibility — Consider a training program to ensure that AI is accessible to students and employees equally, and folks who don’t consider themselves “technically savvy” aren’t left behind or think of AI tools as incompatible with their teaching, learning, or work.
• Bias and accuracy — Research indicates that algorithms can be biased against some groups, compounding systemic discrimination. Additionally, outputs can be wrong but sound convincing and authoritative. There are reputational and legal risks of relying on inaccurate and biased information. Monitor and verify outputs before using them, check sources, and be mindful about when generative AI use is inappropriate.

Communication

Be transparent when you use Copilot or other generative AI tools.

Communicate specific generative AI use expectations with your students, colleagues, and audience, relying first on university policy and use guidelines, and second on your collaborators’ comfort and internal workflows. Always cite the use of generative AI tools. Reading or viewing AI content without noting its use can be jarring, misleading, and feel inauthentic.

Become a good editor and teach others to enhance their editing skills when using generative AI tools.

One of the most human things about you is your personal sense of style and taste; these are uniquely you. You have developed your voice from your education and experiences. Your taste and editing skills are critical when using Copilot. Consider generative AI outputs as a first draft and have a heavy hand in editing to apply your personal voice and taste.

What are groups doing with Microsoft Copilot?

Copilot can support your work.

Have an information privacy topic you’d like to know more about? Contact Bebe Vanek, information privacy administrator for University of Utah Health Compliance Services, at [email protected] .

• Preparing first drafts of letters, kudos, or emails. Remember to review and edit for your voice and appropriate content.
• Compiling and summarizing large amounts of information from various sources and preparing a summary or initial outline for a presentation. Be sure to check sources for accuracy and credibility.
• Analyzing large data sets and publicly available documents to summarize information. Use caution to verify accuracy.
• Generating appropriate images to brainstorm content for social media marketing or office materials. Be sure to follow approved university marketing guidelines .
• Experimenting with prompt engineering and learning something new. This technology can be fun, and some outputs are inadvertently funny while you adjust to these skills.

U of U resources

Many resources are available for those interested in using Microsoft Copilot or getting involved with AI discussions at the university.

• Related article: Website about AI efforts at the U goes live
• Attend monthly VP for Research AI Community of Practice meetings to learn more about platform development, events, and use cases
• Contact me or Senior IT Product Manager Clayton Norlen at [email protected] for information on upcoming webinars, which include a Copilot demo and more information about legal and compliance risks associated with the tool
• Complete the Responsible AI Survey to submit ideas and help drive development on campus

Our monthly newsletter includes news from UIT and other campus/ University of Utah Health IT organizations, features about UIT employees, IT governance news, and various announcements and updates.

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Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The impact of colonization, the problem of evil, and the african traditional religion worldview on biblical hermeneutics in west africa.

Christopher Blay , Liberty University Follow

Rawlings School of Divinity

Doctor of Philosophy

Robert Wayne Talley

Christianity, West Africa, colonization, problem of evil, African Traditional, Religion (ATR), biblical hermeneutics, Millennials, Gen Z, Decline of Christianity in West Africa, West African Traditional Religion (WATR)

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Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Recommended Citation

Blay, Christopher, "The Impact of Colonization, the Problem of Evil, and the African Traditional Religion Worldview on Biblical Hermeneutics in West Africa" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects . 5981. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5981

This research paper delves into the complex relationship between colonization, African Traditional Religion (ATR), the problem of evil, and their impact on interpreting biblical texts in West Africa. The study explores how historical colonization, cultural beliefs rooted in ATR, and the existential question of evil have shaped the lens through which Millennials and Gen Z in West Africa engage with Christianity.

Through an analysis of historical sources, scholarly works, and academic articles, this paper highlights how these factors have contributed to a decline in interest in Christianity among the youth in the region. The paper also emphasizes the importance of understanding this complex interplay to promote effective cross-cultural communication of the gospel of Christ.

Since August 29, 2024

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A Literature Analysis on the Development of a Filipino-Based Augmentative and Alternative Communication Mobile Application

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Psychological Science and Public Communications

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Essential Science Conversations

October 2021

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Psychological scientists often lament that there isn’t greater understanding, appreciation, and application of our science. In this highly interactive webinar, our panel of knowledgeable experts will discuss how psychological scientists can communicate their work to a broader audience.

This program does not offer CE credit.

Alicia C. Aebersold, BA

Chief communications officer, APA.

Daniel Gilbert, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychology, Harvard University.

Ali M. Mattu, PhD

Jonathan Wai, PhD

Associate professor of education policy and psychology, University of Arkansas.

Mitch Prinstein, PhD

Chief Science Officer, APA.

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178 Communication Research Topics For Your Paper

Imagine what the world would be without communication! How would we get along? I guess there would be no sense in existing after all. That is just a tiny snippet of how important communication is in everyday life. Exchanging information is a key component of coexistence as it creates order and a sense of satisfaction in the end.

However, communication as a discipline cuts across all other niches in the academic world. Students from an Engineering course would also take up communication as a unit of study. Students delve into the transmission, representation, reception, and decoding of information communicated to a greater extent.

Situations When You May Need To Write A Communication Paper

Various scenarios call for a communication paper either as an assignment or a research project in college. The communication papers needed for every situation vary in format and outline. Here are some of the cases when communication papers are necessary:

When writing a resume or cover letter In presentations and reports Internal or external communication in a company Writing a thesis statement

When writing communication papers in these different scenarios, students can develop the following aspects:

Understand the various communication phenomena Ability to direct communication messages towards accomplishing individual and organizational goals Understand various types of communication such as rhetoric, interpersonal or organizational

Such an assignment is peculiar because it deals with students’ communication processes. Therefore, the student can easily relate a communication assignment to the real-world environment.

You will have to conduct extensive digging before writing your paper like any other research project. In writing a communication research paper, you will benefit from the importance of communication in general, such as building better relationships and finding the right solutions to various problems.

It takes a lot of time to create a high-quality writing, so you have all the right to ask dissertation writers for hire to help.

Guidelines On Structure And Step By Step Tips On Writing

To have an award-winning communication paper, you need to understand that structure is always at the heart of it all. A great communication paper follows the structure below:

Solid intro : Begin by presenting a captivating introduction by highlighting the facts, questions, or problems that you will explore in the body. The reader should find more than a million reasons to proceed with your essay by reading the first two lines. A strong thesis statement is also necessary for the introduction. An insightful literature review : It shows the theoretical basis of your research project, thus giving it validity. An in-depth literature review will give room for exploration and further research. Main body : This is where we expect to find all your findings, methodological steps, concepts, analyses, and the outcome. Discussion and conclusion : Depending on your professor’s instructions, you can divide this into two parts or put it as one. In either case, this section will consist of the strengths and weaknesses of your research and any future development or improvements. You could also compare the results found in your research with what other authors have discovered.

Provided you have all your facts at hand, a communication research paper will be the easiest you will ever handle in college. Nonetheless, you can order a custom paper from various online writing experts.

If you want to make an impression with your communication research paper, here are some tips to consider:

Select a thought-provoking and captivating research topic Have a working outline with all the arguments and examples/evidence in place Ensure that you exhaust reading all the possible research materials on your topic Such papers are always in the first person except in unique cases

You can review some of the samples on our essay writer to familiarize yourself with the structure and outline of a communication research paper.

Let’s now explore 178 of the hottest communication research topics to ace your project:

Top Interpersonal Communication Research Topics

• Evaluate the different relational patterns of interaction theory
• How to achieve coordinated management of meaning
• Discuss the fundamentals of pedagogical communication
• How does technology relate to interpersonal communication?
• Key constructs of openness and closeness
• Establishing identities in the identity management theory
• Evaluate the contribution of interpersonal communication scholars
• How mental representations influence how people interpret information
• Conceptualizing the process of social interaction
• Discuss the various behavioral interaction patterns among siblings
• Why do individuals modify their communicative behavior?
• Describe why new environments present a challenge for most people to communicate effectively
• The role of eye contact and gestures in interpersonal communication
• Varying effects of nonverbal and verbal acts of interpersonal communication
• Effects of different cultures on interpersonal communication strategies

World-Class Communication Research Topics For College Students

• Understanding the historical research methods in communication
• Discuss the relationship between technology, media, and culture
• Evaluate the various revolutions in human communication
• Discuss the developments made in the invention of human speech and language
• The role of image-making, cinema, and media entertainment in communication
• How to overcome communication barriers among students
• Steps in encouraging participation in meetings
• How employees contribute to the information flow in organizations
• How to evaluate a report based on its findings
• Sources of error during nonverbal communication
• How the media can match the channels of communication to their audience
• Ensuring audience attention during a presentation
• The impact of graphics in communication strategies
• How to interpret non-verbal signals
• Developing communication methods that match a given purpose

Possible Topics For Communication Research

• How to develop realistic communication strategies
• Discuss the economics of finance in communication processes
• How exposure to radio and TV impacts communication
• How to manage controversial issues in communication
• Why speaking with confidence is still difficult for many people
• The effectiveness of communicating with words and body language
• Why defining your purpose is key in any communication process
• Why explanatory communication is more difficult than informative communication
• The place of communication in long-distance relationships
• Communication strategies that influence people
• How to use communication effectively for conflict resolution
• Developing your self-esteem for effective communication
• Effects of redundancy in communication processes
• The place of responsibility in developing communication messages
• How to acquire effective communication skills in college

Latest Communication Topic For Research

• The role of persuasive dialogue in negotiations
• Why everyone must learn proper expression strategies
• Effects of emoji and other characters in enhancing textual conversations
• The role of propaganda in shaping communication tones
• Evaluate the unique political language used in America versus Africa
• The continuing impact of the internet on interpersonal communication
• How images are enhancing communication
• Discuss the effects of gender victimization on communication
• Evaluate the development of modern digital communication
• How to effectively communicate during a war or crisis
• How hacking is transforming communication of encrypted messages
• Effects of stereotyping in developing communication messages
• Is virtual reality ruining effective communication?
• Evaluate language as a barrier in communicating messages
• The role of empathy in communicating to victims of a disaster

Top-Notch Communication Research Paper Topics

• The role of diplomacy in fostering better relations among countries
• Why aided communication may not achieve the intended purpose
• Effects of using a translator in the communication of critical messages
• Evaluate the development of audio-visual devices for communication
• The dangers of failing to notice barriers to communication
• How stigma and prejudice impact effective communication
• Discuss the impact of having a common language in a country
• How social classes affect communication messages
• Factors that hinder communication between fighting political sides
• How to develop strong communication skills in a marketplace
• Why opinions may prevent one from seeing the true picture
• Discuss the role of fantasy and exaggeration in communication
• Differences between oral and verbal messages in conveying information
• The role of attitude and mood in enhancing effective message delivery
• How the media sets the communication pattern of a given society

Highly Rated Mass Communication Research Topics

• Discuss the essence of social media among PR practitioners
• The role of mass media in rebranding a nation
• Challenges to media freedom and their impact on proper communication
• Discuss the effects of news commercialization and their credibility
• How TV advertisements impact children and their development
• Compare and contrast between animation and real-people adverts in mass media
• How the internet affects professionalization in news media
• How mass media messages contribute to the development of religion in Africa
• Evaluate the radio listenership patterns between men and women
• How does mass media contribute to an emerging democracy
• Discuss how the media enlightens the public on issues of concern
• The role of mass media in communicating development messages
• Why mass media is critical before, during, and after elections
• Assess the influence of community radio in remote areas
• How mass media contributes to national integration

Good Communication Research Topics

• What determines consumer preference patterns in the 21 st century?
• Effective communication strategies for creating awareness against drug abuse
• Prospects and challenges of local dialects in communication
• Evaluate the influence of television on public opinion
• Discuss the growing cyberactivism in the digital age
• How social media is contributing to misleading information
• Challenges facing teachers when communicating to pre-school students
• Discuss the impact of information overload on the credibility of information
• Evaluate communication patterns among the youth in the US
• Assess the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on communication patterns
• How public perception influences communication strategies
• Explain how mothers learn to communicate with and understand their babies at such a tender age
• The role of music in shaping communication models
• How to overcome the challenge of top-down communication in companies
• Management of information on online media for effective use

Business Communication Research Paper Topics

• Discuss the increasing role of influencers on brand marketing
• Why company blogs are essential in attracting new clients
• Evaluate the differences between face to face and virtual business meetings
• The growing popularity of social media in business marketing
• Why every company should have a partner relations department
• Dealing with complaints in a relaxed and useful manner
• Why online project management is the future of business
• Discuss why it is necessary to have company retreats
• Explore the role of digital document sharing in speeding up business communication
• Effects of relying on online communication at the expense of physical meetings
• The role of effective business management in the performance of an organization
• How staff motivation improve the overall working environment
• Discuss the place of corporate social responsibility in a company
• Effective ways of handling crisis in a large company
• Explain why trust is important in any business partnerships

Intercultural Communication Research Topics

• Discuss how Muslims interact with Christians at a social level
• Evaluate the reception of instructions from a man to a woman
• How Americans interact with Africans at the basic level
• Discuss how an American Democrat would associate with a Chinese politician
• Discuss the impact of marginalization in developing communication messages
• How migration and immigration affect communication patterns
• Effects of social stereotyping in communication
• How do Western communication models differ from those of Africa?
• Impact of discriminatory communication messages
• How to organize an effective intergroup come-together
• How the media represents various groups in its communication
• Effects of the growing intercultural norms
• The role of language attitudes in inhibiting effective communication
• Evaluate how ethnographic perspectives affect communication messages
• Why it is difficult to solve intercultural conflicts

Additional Interpersonal Communication Topics For Research Paper

• The role of interpersonal communication in team member satisfaction
• How collaboration and teamwork enhances business success
• Discuss how interpersonal communication enhances problem-solving skills
• The role of trust in interpersonal communication
• Effects of confusion, negativity, and conflicts on interpersonal communication
• How to deal with workplace miscommunication effectively
• The role of personalizing information
• How to improve internal communication channels in a company
• Discuss the role of interests in communication patterns
• Challenges when implementing modern communication solutions
• Evaluate how jargon and inattention make internal communication difficult
• The role of feedback in interpreting messages correctly
• Discuss the influence of environmental factors in communication
• Why miscommunication may result in a disconnect among a group of people
• Discuss the role of skills and knowledge in effective communication among leaders

Interesting Communication Research Topics

• How can effective interpersonal communication be a catalyst for action
• Why a focused and intentional approach is necessary for effective communication
• Discuss why online dating is not successful in most cases
• Evaluate the role of non-verbal communication and customer satisfaction
• Why is it important to have a list of communication networks?
• Effects of lack of personal contact when it comes to communication
• Discuss the various forms of human interactions and their influence on communication
• The role of clear communication during an organizational change process
• Why online communication is not as effective as physical meetings
• Evaluate the roles and issues involved in a nurse-patient communication
• The role of TV shows in determining how people relate to each other in the society
• Effects of the digital divide in communication paradigms
• The relationship between quality leadership and effective communication
• Why is email still not yet an effective communication medium?
• Effects of integrating marketing communication

General Communication Studies Research Topics

• Discuss the differences in body language between male and female
• The role of communication in familiarizing with someone
• How online gaming communication affects one’s interpersonal communication
• Why a leader without proper communication skills may not succeed
• The role of communication in achieving an organization’s vision
• How mobile phone conversations are turning around interpersonal communication
• Discuss the role of different personality types in communication
• Is there a difference between language and communication?
• Discuss how communication in the military is different from that in a normal setting
• Compare and contrast between written and spoken forms of communication
• Why family communication is critical for a peaceful coexistence
• Shortcomings to understanding foreign languages
• Discuss the effectiveness of web-based communication

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Communication Studies: Effective Communication Leads to Effective Leadership

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• PMID: 32187871
• DOI: 10.1002/yd.20371

This chapter explores how communication studies focuses on human communication among people in groups, teams, and organizations. While persuasive communication has long been at the heart of leadership development, the discipline's contributions to effective leadership also range from advancing our understanding of organizational communicative systems to the development of skills for deliberative democracy and civic engagement.

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How to Write and Publish a Research Paper for a Peer-Reviewed Journal

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• Published: 30 April 2020
• Volume 36 , pages 909–913, ( 2021 )

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• Clara Busse   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0178-1000 1 &
• Ella August   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5151-1036 1 , 2  

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Communicating research findings is an essential step in the research process. Often, peer-reviewed journals are the forum for such communication, yet many researchers are never taught how to write a publishable scientific paper. In this article, we explain the basic structure of a scientific paper and describe the information that should be included in each section. We also identify common pitfalls for each section and recommend strategies to avoid them. Further, we give advice about target journal selection and authorship. In the online resource 1 , we provide an example of a high-quality scientific paper, with annotations identifying the elements we describe in this article.

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Introduction

Writing a scientific paper is an important component of the research process, yet researchers often receive little formal training in scientific writing. This is especially true in low-resource settings. In this article, we explain why choosing a target journal is important, give advice about authorship, provide a basic structure for writing each section of a scientific paper, and describe common pitfalls and recommendations for each section. In the online resource 1 , we also include an annotated journal article that identifies the key elements and writing approaches that we detail here. Before you begin your research, make sure you have ethical clearance from all relevant ethical review boards.

Select a Target Journal Early in the Writing Process

We recommend that you select a “target journal” early in the writing process; a “target journal” is the journal to which you plan to submit your paper. Each journal has a set of core readers and you should tailor your writing to this readership. For example, if you plan to submit a manuscript about vaping during pregnancy to a pregnancy-focused journal, you will need to explain what vaping is because readers of this journal may not have a background in this topic. However, if you were to submit that same article to a tobacco journal, you would not need to provide as much background information about vaping.

Information about a journal’s core readership can be found on its website, usually in a section called “About this journal” or something similar. For example, the Journal of Cancer Education presents such information on the “Aims and Scope” page of its website, which can be found here: https://www.springer.com/journal/13187/aims-and-scope .

Peer reviewer guidelines from your target journal are an additional resource that can help you tailor your writing to the journal and provide additional advice about crafting an effective article [ 1 ]. These are not always available, but it is worth a quick web search to find out.

Identify Author Roles Early in the Process

Early in the writing process, identify authors, determine the order of authors, and discuss the responsibilities of each author. Standard author responsibilities have been identified by The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) [ 2 ]. To set clear expectations about each team member’s responsibilities and prevent errors in communication, we also suggest outlining more detailed roles, such as who will draft each section of the manuscript, write the abstract, submit the paper electronically, serve as corresponding author, and write the cover letter. It is best to formalize this agreement in writing after discussing it, circulating the document to the author team for approval. We suggest creating a title page on which all authors are listed in the agreed-upon order. It may be necessary to adjust authorship roles and order during the development of the paper. If a new author order is agreed upon, be sure to update the title page in the manuscript draft.

In the case where multiple papers will result from a single study, authors should discuss who will author each paper. Additionally, authors should agree on a deadline for each paper and the lead author should take responsibility for producing an initial draft by this deadline.

Structure of the Introduction Section

The introduction section should be approximately three to five paragraphs in length. Look at examples from your target journal to decide the appropriate length. This section should include the elements shown in Fig.  1 . Begin with a general context, narrowing to the specific focus of the paper. Include five main elements: why your research is important, what is already known about the topic, the “gap” or what is not yet known about the topic, why it is important to learn the new information that your research adds, and the specific research aim(s) that your paper addresses. Your research aim should address the gap you identified. Be sure to add enough background information to enable readers to understand your study. Table 1 provides common introduction section pitfalls and recommendations for addressing them.

The main elements of the introduction section of an original research article. Often, the elements overlap

Methods Section

The purpose of the methods section is twofold: to explain how the study was done in enough detail to enable its replication and to provide enough contextual detail to enable readers to understand and interpret the results. In general, the essential elements of a methods section are the following: a description of the setting and participants, the study design and timing, the recruitment and sampling, the data collection process, the dataset, the dependent and independent variables, the covariates, the analytic approach for each research objective, and the ethical approval. The hallmark of an exemplary methods section is the justification of why each method was used. Table 2 provides common methods section pitfalls and recommendations for addressing them.

Results Section

The focus of the results section should be associations, or lack thereof, rather than statistical tests. Two considerations should guide your writing here. First, the results should present answers to each part of the research aim. Second, return to the methods section to ensure that the analysis and variables for each result have been explained.

Begin the results section by describing the number of participants in the final sample and details such as the number who were approached to participate, the proportion who were eligible and who enrolled, and the number of participants who dropped out. The next part of the results should describe the participant characteristics. After that, you may organize your results by the aim or by putting the most exciting results first. Do not forget to report your non-significant associations. These are still findings.

Tables and figures capture the reader’s attention and efficiently communicate your main findings [ 3 ]. Each table and figure should have a clear message and should complement, rather than repeat, the text. Tables and figures should communicate all salient details necessary for a reader to understand the findings without consulting the text. Include information on comparisons and tests, as well as information about the sample and timing of the study in the title, legend, or in a footnote. Note that figures are often more visually interesting than tables, so if it is feasible to make a figure, make a figure. To avoid confusing the reader, either avoid abbreviations in tables and figures, or define them in a footnote. Note that there should not be citations in the results section and you should not interpret results here. Table 3 provides common results section pitfalls and recommendations for addressing them.

Discussion Section

Opposite the introduction section, the discussion should take the form of a right-side-up triangle beginning with interpretation of your results and moving to general implications (Fig.  2 ). This section typically begins with a restatement of the main findings, which can usually be accomplished with a few carefully-crafted sentences.

Major elements of the discussion section of an original research article. Often, the elements overlap

Next, interpret the meaning or explain the significance of your results, lifting the reader’s gaze from the study’s specific findings to more general applications. Then, compare these study findings with other research. Are these findings in agreement or disagreement with those from other studies? Does this study impart additional nuance to well-accepted theories? Situate your findings within the broader context of scientific literature, then explain the pathways or mechanisms that might give rise to, or explain, the results.

Journals vary in their approach to strengths and limitations sections: some are embedded paragraphs within the discussion section, while some mandate separate section headings. Keep in mind that every study has strengths and limitations. Candidly reporting yours helps readers to correctly interpret your research findings.

The next element of the discussion is a summary of the potential impacts and applications of the research. Should these results be used to optimally design an intervention? Does the work have implications for clinical protocols or public policy? These considerations will help the reader to further grasp the possible impacts of the presented work.

Finally, the discussion should conclude with specific suggestions for future work. Here, you have an opportunity to illuminate specific gaps in the literature that compel further study. Avoid the phrase “future research is necessary” because the recommendation is too general to be helpful to readers. Instead, provide substantive and specific recommendations for future studies. Table 4 provides common discussion section pitfalls and recommendations for addressing them.

Follow the Journal’s Author Guidelines

After you select a target journal, identify the journal’s author guidelines to guide the formatting of your manuscript and references. Author guidelines will often (but not always) include instructions for titles, cover letters, and other components of a manuscript submission. Read the guidelines carefully. If you do not follow the guidelines, your article will be sent back to you.

Finally, do not submit your paper to more than one journal at a time. Even if this is not explicitly stated in the author guidelines of your target journal, it is considered inappropriate and unprofessional.

Your title should invite readers to continue reading beyond the first page [ 4 , 5 ]. It should be informative and interesting. Consider describing the independent and dependent variables, the population and setting, the study design, the timing, and even the main result in your title. Because the focus of the paper can change as you write and revise, we recommend you wait until you have finished writing your paper before composing the title.

Be sure that the title is useful for potential readers searching for your topic. The keywords you select should complement those in your title to maximize the likelihood that a researcher will find your paper through a database search. Avoid using abbreviations in your title unless they are very well known, such as SNP, because it is more likely that someone will use a complete word rather than an abbreviation as a search term to help readers find your paper.

After you have written a complete draft, use the checklist (Fig. 3 ) below to guide your revisions and editing. Additional resources are available on writing the abstract and citing references [ 5 ]. When you feel that your work is ready, ask a trusted colleague or two to read the work and provide informal feedback. The box below provides a checklist that summarizes the key points offered in this article.

Checklist for manuscript quality

Data Availability

Michalek AM (2014) Down the rabbit hole…advice to reviewers. J Cancer Educ 29:4–5

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International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Defining the role of authors and contributors: who is an author? http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authosrs-and-contributors.html . Accessed 15 January, 2020

Vetto JT (2014) Short and sweet: a short course on concise medical writing. J Cancer Educ 29(1):194–195

Brett M, Kording K (2017) Ten simple rules for structuring papers. PLoS ComputBiol. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005619

Lang TA (2017) Writing a better research article. J Public Health Emerg. https://doi.org/10.21037/jphe.2017.11.06

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Acknowledgments

Ella August is grateful to the Sustainable Sciences Institute for mentoring her in training researchers on writing and publishing their research.

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Busse, C., August, E. How to Write and Publish a Research Paper for a Peer-Reviewed Journal. J Canc Educ 36 , 909–913 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01751-z

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100 Communication Research Topics

Table of contents

• 1 What Is Communication Research?
• 2.1 Top Research Topic Ideas
• 2.2 Research Topics for College Students
• 2.3 Business-Focused Research Topics
• 2.4 Social Media Research Topics
• 2.5 Mass Communication Research Topics
• 2.6 Interpersonal Communication Research Topics
• 2.7 Intercultural Communication Research Topics
• 2.8 Virtual Communication Research Topics
• 2.9 Health-Related Research Topics
• 2.10 Interesting Communication Research Topics
• 3 Coming up with a Thesis Statement
• 4.1 How to Create Strong Questions for Your Paper?
• 4.2 How to Find the Right Research Topics?
• 4.3 What Makes a Research Paper Topic Strong?
• 4.4 Tips for Structuring and Writing Your Paper
• 5 Conclusion

All fields of study have fresh and intriguing new research paper topics to explore. Within the subject of communication, there are loads of possibilities for research papers . This is thanks to the development of mass media and the growing popularity of various modern communication methods.

This article covers a broad range of effective research paper topics that are both interesting and relevant for this field. Any of them would make a suitable focal point for any research paper to do with how we interact with one another.

What Is Communication Research?

This is the study of how we interact with one another. It includes how the way we interact is affected by technology, culture, and individual differences. Researchers in this field use a variety of methods to study the way we converse and interact with each other, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and experiments.

Research in this area can be used to improve communication skills in personal relationships, in the workplace, and in other settings.

Lists of Key Communication Research Topics

The range of research paper topics in this field is extensive, to say the least. Below are 100 relevant topics that are arranged in groups of 10.

They cover a broad selection of modern communication issues and debates, from corporate and computer mediated communication to effective interpersonal communication, communication strategies, and more.

Top Research Topic Ideas

The topics in this first group mostly focus on how different factors impact the way we interact with one another. These are some of the key issues in the communication discipline today.

• The role communication plays in organizations.
• How technology influences it.
• The way globalization affects it.
• How it’s influenced by broadcast media.
• Ways in which advertising impacts it.
• The influence propaganda has on it.
• How it’s impacted by public relations.
• The effects of international journalism and journalism ethics on it.
• How the use of social media influences it.
• How it’s affected by language.

Research Topics for College Students

These topics are ideal for college students. They focus on how communication processes can influence someone’s mental health and personality traits. Both of these are important since they can influence a student’s academic progress.

• How does communication shape our identities?
• How do we use it to build relationships?
• What role does it play in influencing our emotions?
• How is our thinking influenced by it?
• In what ways do we use it to manage conflict?
• How is our behavior influenced by it?
• What factors influence the effectiveness of communication?
• In what way is it impacted by technology?
• What influences do cultural differences have on it?
• How does it shape our physical and mental health?

Business-Focused Research Topics

Having effective business communication is necessary for any sort of commercial activity to improve its marketing value. Both business to business communication and interactions with the public have to get the right message across. Below are some potential areas to do with organizational communication and public relations.

• The impact of new communication technologies.
• The use of social media and external communication.
• What effects does globalization have?
• How organizational communication is used in virtual teams.
• The impact that intercultural communication has.
• The way humor is used.
• What are the effects of gender?
• How we use non-verbal communication.
• The effect that technology has on corporate communication etiquette.
• The way we use business communication in crisis situations.

Social Media Research Topics

The focus of these topics is on social media, and it affects the way we communicate with one another. Using social media and being exposed to social media marketing can both have significant effects on practical communication skills. These topics focus on the way modern digital platforms influence our interactions.

• The effect of social media on communication practices and patterns.
• How social media changes relationship development.
• What influence does social media have on how people interact with each other?
• The effect of social media on the way people share information.
• How social media impacts the way people interact with businesses.
• The effect of social media on the way people interact with governments through proper communication channels.
• What consequences does social media have on online interactions?
• The effect that social media has on the way people interact with each other offline.
• Social media’s influence on the way people interact with each other in different cultures.
• What effects does social media have on the way people interact with each other in different age groups?

Mass Communication Research Topics

Mass communication is when you share information with a large number of people at the same time. Topics to do with mass communication are very relevant, thanks to the internet, social media platforms, and other kinds of mass media. The purpose of mass media is simply to inform loads of people about something as quickly and conveniently as possible.

• What effect do social media platforms have on mass communication?
• How does new technology affect it?
• The impact that advertising has on it.
• How news media influences it.
• Ways in which propaganda impacts it.
• The influence that public relations have on it.
• How it’s impacted by digital media and print media.
• Globalization’s impact on it.
• How new forms of media affect it.
• The ways it’s influenced by social networking.

Interpersonal Communication Research Topics

This is a broad term that refers to the exchanging of information between people. It’s when you use effective communication skills to share thoughts, ideas, and facts with at least one other person. The topics in this section look at some of the latest interpersonal communication trends.

• The effect of technology on interpersonal communication.
• The effect of culture on it.
• How gender influences it.
• The effect of age on it.
• How someone’s interaction style may impact it.
• The way context may influence it.
• How relationships can influence it.
• How it can be influenced by social apprehension.
• The effect of social competence on it.
• How it’s impacted by satisfaction.

Intercultural Communication Research Topics

This is when people from different cultures exchange information. Things like different languages, traditions, and even artifacts affect intercultural communication. The topics below look at intercultural communication and how culture shapes the many ways we interact with one another.

• How culture influences the ways we interact with one another.
• The impact of intercultural communication styles on relationships.
• How culture impacts our perceptions of interaction.
• The effect that interaction has on business relationships.
• How culture influences the way we interpret nonverbal communication.
• The impact of culture on our way of interpreting speech.
• How culture influences our information processing.
• The way culture impacts our process of making decision.
• The impact of culture on how we solve problems.
• How culture influences our interactions with others.

Virtual Communication Research Topics

Are virtual communication skills essential? You have to be just as proficient at virtual dialogue as you are at spoken words. Mastering interactive online communication is key for anyone who wants to succeed, and the topics below delve into this further.

• The impact on the development of personal relationships.
• The use of virtual dialogue in the business world.
• How it influences the way we think and learn.
• The benefits of virtual communication for people with social anxiety.
• The way it’s used in education.
• How it impacts our mental health.
• Ways in which it influences family relationships.
• How it’s used in the workplace.
• The effect it has on relationships.
• The advantages and disadvantages of virtual communication.

Health-Related Research Topics

It’s essential to have effective communication strategies in any sort of healthcare setting. Having interpersonal communication competence is vital so that practitioners can speak with patients clearly and effectively. The topics below look at how internal and external communication in the healthcare industry affects and is affected by different factors.

• The effectiveness of health communication campaigns in changing health behaviors.
• The impact of social media on interactions in the health industry.
• How humor is used in it.
• How storytelling is used in it.
• What effects it has on reducing health disparities.
• What effects it has on increasing health literacy.
• How new media technologies are used in it.
• How it influences public health outcomes.
• The role it plays in health education.
• The impact it has on patient satisfaction.

Interesting Communication Research Topics

This last batch of topics looks at how both spoken words and non-verbal communication affect different things. Some of the topics are about how we interact with one another in different areas of life.

• The impact of new communication technology on social interactions.
• The way it is used in the workplace.
• How we use it in education.
• Ways in which it is used in marketing.
• How people use it in healthcare.
• The way it affects personal relationships.
• The effects it has on organizational cultures.
• How it impacts individual productivity.
• Its effects on consumer behavior.
• The influences it has on the environment.
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Coming up with a Thesis Statement

Once you have come up with a potential research topic, you should start writing. Your first step is to write an effective thesis statement .

Your thesis statement is the argument or main point you want to make about your topic. It’s a summary of what your paper is going to be about. The purpose of it is to show the reader what you will be discussing and invite them to read your work.

Once you have your thesis statement, start writing your paper. Make sure to include evidence from scholarly sources to support your work.

Topic Selection and Writing Tips

How to create strong questions for your paper.

This question doesn’t have a single answer, as the best way to create strong questions for your paper will vary depending on the specific research project and its goals.

However, some tips on how to create strong questions include:

• Start by thinking about the specific goals of your research project. What are you trying to learn or understand?
• Draft a few potential research questions that can help you answer your goals. Be sure to make them as specific as possible.
• Test your research questions by asking them to others to see if they are clear and understandable. Are they interesting to people outside of your field of study?
• Revise and refine your research questions as needed. Be sure to keep them concise and easy to understand.

How to Find the Right Research Topics?

When writing a communication research paper, first, you should decide what topic you want to learn more about.

• Do the effects of social media and mass media on communication interest you?
• What about the role of communication in a competitive global business environment?
• What is the impact of new technology on the ways we exchange information?
• Whether effective communication is necessary to ensure credible reporting?
• How do improved relations make broadcasting media laws effective?

Once you have a general topic in mind, you can begin to narrow it down by focusing on a specific aspect of this field that interests you.

For example, if you are interested in the communication importance in a business market, you might want to focus on the impact of effective business interactions on employee productivity or customer satisfaction.

Alternatively, you could look at how private media ownership is affecting mass media, bringing journalism ethics into the discussion, and how journalists are ensuring credible reporting.

What Makes a Research Paper Topic Strong?

There is no one answer to this question, as it depends on the individual and the specific research goals. However, some factors that could make a research topic strong include its relevance to current events or real-world issues, its potential to generate new and innovative ideas, and its ability to generate interesting and valuable research findings.

Additionally, a strong topic should be interesting and engaging to read and write about, and it should be something that the researcher can be passionate about.

Tips for Structuring and Writing Your Paper

When writing communication research papers, it is important to structure your argument in a manner that’s clear and concise. Your paper should have a clear research paper introduction , body, and conclusion. Within the body of your paper, there should be a strong thesis statement, evidence that supports your argument, and a conclusion summarizing your argument.

Additionally, throughout the research paper writing process, it is significant to use clear and concise language. Use communication tips to help you put your own points across more effectively.

Deciding what to focus your research paper doesn’t have to be daunting. There are a huge number of research topics available. Finding the right one is easy.

First, think about the ideas that interest you the most. Which part of communication studies are you most passionate about? Is it media ethics, mass media, or something else?

When you’ve settled on one of the research topic ideas , start the research paper writing process. Find key sources such as books and academic articles. Think about what needs addressing in your research paper.

Now, it’s time for you to produce an excellent communication research paper.

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• Published: 02 October 2023

Mapping crisis communication in the communication research: what we know and what we don’t know

• Shalini Upadhyay 1 &
• Nitin Upadhyay 2  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  10 , Article number:  632 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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• Business and management

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of crisis communication research from 1968 to 2022, utilizing bibliometric methods to illuminate its trajectories, thematic shifts, and future possibilities. Additionally, it presents foundational themes such as crisis communication and social media, health communication, crisis and leadership, and reputation and advertising. This analysis offers not only historical insights but also serves as a roadmap for future research endeavors. Furthermore, this study critically evaluates over five decades of scholarship by unveiling the intellectual, social, and conceptual contours of the field while highlighting thematic evolutions. Employing diverse bibliometric indices, this research quantifies authors’ and nations’ productivity and impact. Through co-word analysis, four thematic clusters emerge, capturing the dynamic nature of crisis communication research. However, the study also reveals limited collaboration among authors, primarily localized, indicating room for enhanced cross-border cooperation and exploration of emerging themes. The study’s social network analysis sheds light on key actors and entities within the crisis communication realm, underscoring opportunities to fortify global networks for a robust crisis communication spectrum. Beyond academic curiosity, these insights hold practical implications for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners, offering a blueprint to enhance crisis communication’s effectiveness. This study’s findings can be considered as a reference point for future studies in crisis communication.

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Introduction.

Although crisis communication as such is not a new phenomenon (Coombs, 2021 ), it’s role has become more prominent in recent times because of the events such as 9/11, SARS, COVID-19 pandemic (Avraham and Beirman, 2022 ; Watkins and Walker, 2021 ). Such events have posed unprecedented challenges to crisis management teams and necessitated effective communication and appropriate response strategies. At the same time, these events have revived scholarly interest in the topic (Coombs, 2021 ). As a result, it becomes essential for the scholars to perform timely review of the literature, to explore and understand the diversity of the specific field (Tranfield et al., 2003 ). Not only such reviews help to consolidate the research but also establish connections between disparate bodies of research and understand the diversity of the field (Crossan and Apaydin, 2010 ; Tranfield et al., 2003 ).

Coombs ( 1998 ) defines crisis as “an event that is an unpredictable, a major threat that can have a negative effect on the organization, industry, or stakeholders if handled improperly.” Since a crisis can cause financial and reputational damage to the company, a considerable attention has been given to the research on crisis, crisis management and crisis communication (Coombs and Holladay, 2002 ) and also on appropriate crisis response strategies so as to enable the organizations to manage crisis and reduce harm (Coombs, 2007a ). Our results depict that crisis communication received recognition during late 1960s, and the first studies on “crisis communication” were published only in 1968. The field had limited contribution until late 1990s. However, the double digit annual publication began in the early 2000s and in the recent years the contribution has grown with over 150 publications annually. Between 1991 and 2009, the image restoration theory (Benoit, 1995 ; Benoit, 1997 ) and the situational crisis communication theory (Avery et al., 2010 ; Coombs, 1995 ; Coombs 2007b ) dominated crisis communication research. The image restoration theory was applied to analyze and study several case-based situations while the situational crisis communication theory was extensively utilized for experimental research. Both the theories have been adopted for qualitative and quantitative analyses with an aim to prevent reputational harm and thus these theories became organization centric. The current trend is more towards understanding stakeholders’ perspectives with a multivocal approach (Frandsen and Johansen, 2017 ). Additionally the dominance of social media increases the complexity of crisis communication (Bukar et al., 2020 ; Eriksson, 2018 ).

In the extensive literature on crisis communication, scholars have approached the study of crisis communication from various perspectives and have examined it through multiple lenses. Several recent literature (For e.g., Seeger et al., 2016 ; Zhao, 2020 ) have shed light on these perspectives. The research encompasses different stakeholders involved in crisis communication, including the supply side (such as destinations, cruise lines, hotels, and airlines), the demand side (including tourists, prospective visitors, and general public), as well as other relevant stakeholders like government entities, local residents, and employees. Moreover, the research has explored crisis issues across a wide spectrum, ranging from natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and wildfires, to human-made crises such as terrorist attacks and service failures (Avraham and Beirman, 2022 ; Watkins and Walker, 2021 ). Furthermore, the literature has also addressed the unprecedented crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had far-reaching implications for crisis communication. Importantly, the body of research takes a global perspective, encompassing various regions and countries. For instance, studies have examined crisis communication practices in diverse regions, including Asia, the Middle East, coastal destinations, as well as Western countries like Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This global lens provides valuable insights into the different cultural, social, and contextual factors that shape crisis communication strategies and outcomes across different regions. However, the recent trends related to crisis communication scholarly research have gained traction, particularly in the past decade, especially in the US region (For e.g., Barbe and Pennington-Gray, 2018 ; Beck et al., 2016 ; Briones et al., 2011 ; Kwak et al., 2021 ; Liu et al., 2015a , 2015b ; Seeger et al., 2016 ; Sellnow and Seeger, 2013 ; Zhao, 2020 ).

Moreover, crisis communication research has been fragmented over the past two decades due to the emergence of several new sub-fields (Coombs, 2010 ; Coombs, 2021 ). This poses challenges to the researchers to cope up with the pace and volume of corpora (Yuan et al., 2015 ). Scholars (e.g., Lim et al., 2022 ; Mukherjee et al., 2022 ) recommend capturing scientific progress of a field by means of a systematic and comprehensive review. There are several review techniques that may be used to trace the scientific growth and potential research domains of a field. Various such review techniques have been employed in the crisis communication field to integrate and synthesize the existing knowledge. However, these studies have limited coverage and context of crisis communication. For example, previous studies have focused on organizational crisis communication (Fischer et al., 2016 ) and crisis communication in public relations (Avery et al., 2010 ). Few papers have intensively reviewed crisis communication during the pandemic and infectious disease outbreaks (MacKay et al., 2022 ; Malecki et al., 2021 ; Sadri et al., 2021 ) or captured risk and disaster communication (Bradley et al., 2014 ; Goerlandt et al., 2020 ). Lately, the focus has shifted toward using virtual channels and space (Eriksson, 2018 ; Liu-Lastres, 2022 ; Tornero et al., 2021 ; Wang and Dong, 2017 ; Yang, 2016 ).

However, these studies have dealt with the development of the field either through the qualitative approach in structured literature review (e.g., Valackiene and Virbickaite, 2011 ) or through the quantitative content analysis method (e.g., Li, 2017 ). Zupic and Čater ( 2015 ) claim that though structured literature review analysis deals with an in-depth examination, it insinuates subjective biases thereby constraining the scope of works. Additionally, despite its broader coverage in exploring key authors, topics, theories and methodologies, the content analysis is unable to capture the socio-cognitive structure. Suffice it to say that a comprehensive literature review which may capture intellectual, social and conceptual structures along with the thematic evolution of the crisis communication field has not been attempted (Ha and Boynton, 2014 ; Sarmiento and Poblete, 2021 ).

To overcome this gap bibliometric analysis is recommended which comprehensively captures the literature and traces its thematic evolution (An and Cheng, 2010 ; Moreno-Fernández and Fuentes-Lara, 2019 ; Zurro-Antón et al., 2021 ). Moreover, it facilitates the exploration of various performance metrics and mapping of the intellectual, social, and conceptual structures (Harker and Saffer, 2018 ; Lazzarotti et al., 2011 ). Wamba and Queiroz ( 2020 ) argue that bibliometric analysis examines large corpora of literature in an objective and evidence-based outcomes and it is more effective than the traditional methods (e.g., systematic literature review, meta-analysis, narrative analysis, etc.), which are labor-intensive and subjective. Additionally, bibliometric methods and visualization examinations are scalable and can be easily applied to a large corpora of literature covering authors and articles (Ki et al., 2019 ; Morgan and Wilk, 2021 ).

There are two approaches in bibliometric techniques—evaluative and relational. The evaluative review uses qualitative and quantitative methods covering aspects of the field’s ranking and contribution of different elements (e.g., sources, documents, institutions, and authors) (Benckendorff, 2009 ). The evaluative review focuses on productivity and impact (McKercher, 2012 ; Park et al., 2011 ). In contrast, relational review investigates relationships within the structures of the research field. It explores thematic evolution, co-authorship patterns, and co-citation (Benckendorff and Zehrer, 2013 ). Cobo et al. ( 2012 ) propose four different relational techniques for different contexts that answer who, when, where, what, and with whom questions by performing suitable analyses such as profiling, temporal, geospatial, topical, and network. It also facilitates a three-level analysis- micro (individual researchers), meso (regional-groups- journals), and macro (entire field). Overall, the relational analysis provides an in-depth coverage of the field, however, in the crisis communication area, it has not been utilized to explore and understand crisis communication research activity. Thus there is an inadequate synthetization of numerous aspects of the field in a single paper.

This paper utilizes relational analysis to explore and investigate the broad structure of crisis communication research. It aims at mapping crisis communication field by exploring its social, intellectual and conceptual structures over the past 50 years. Subsequently, the paper’s specific objectives are- determining the influential authors, countries and sources; and identifying major thematic areas affecting thematic evolution. Therefore, the process and outcomes of this paper are different from the studies that have either used or use traditional methods, as discussed above. However, the study’s outcomes complement those review articles that focus on specific contexts and aspects of crisis communication.

Methodology

In this study, we aim to map crisis communication in the communication research. The study also seeks to find the field’s social, intellectual and conceptual structures over the past 50 years. Additionally the future directions need to be explored.

Research questions

We defined the following research questions to map crisis communication in the following way:

RQ1: Who are the prominent contributors to the literature on crisis communication discipline?

RQ2: What is the social structure (or collaboration patterns) in crisis communication literature?

RQ3: What is the conceptual structure (or main research themes) in crisis communication literature?

RQ4: What is the intellectual structure in crisis communication literature?

RQ5: What are the future research directions in crisis communication scholarship?

The first research question was aimed at identifying the core contributors (author, document, source, institution and country) to the literature on crisis communication discipline, while the second question was designed to examine the collaboration pattern across levels—individual, institution, and country-level. The purpose of the third question was to gain more in-depth insights into the themes that have received attention in the literature. While the fourth research questions was aimed at identifying the intellectual patterns across levels—individual, document, and source. Finally, the fifth question was to identify the future directions in the crisis communication field.

We prepared the data considering two steps. First, we selected the source of data and then extracted the relevant articles based on the search query. We selected Scopus database to extract the relevant articles. The Scopus database includes all authors in cited references. This gives accuracy to the author-based citation and co-citation analysis. Further, we searched for the term “crisis communication” to extract relevant articles, and subsequently gathered 2487 documents. However, to explore the growth, contributions, and thematic areas we limited our search only to the journal articles in the English language. The search fields focus on covering abstracts, titles and keywords. Moreover, the search also had a criteria of limiting extraction of only articles (research and review) from peer-reviewed journals and excluding documents such as opinion pieces, book reviews, and commentaries. Finally, a sample of 1850 papers were included for further analyses.

Bibliometric methods for addressing RQs

We addressed RQ1 by performing descriptive analysis to identify core sources, authors, countries, publications, affiliations and prominent contributors to the literature on crisis communication. Measurements such as source impact (h-index and m-index), total citations (TC), and annual net publications (NP) were used to determine core sources and core authors. We used Bradford’s law to identify the core sources which are categorized into three zones. Zone 1 (the nuclear zone) is considered highly productive, while zones 2 and 3 represent moderate and low productions respectively (Zupic and Čater, 2015 ). Further, publication frequency and total citations were used to determine the top countries and affiliations.

We addressed RQ2 by using co-author analysis as it provides evidence of co-authorship when the authors jointly contribute to papers. Social structures are created when authors collaborate to develop and create articles. Moreover, when two authors co-publish a paper, they establish social ties or relationships (Lu and Wolfram, 2012 ). Co-authorship analysis can examine social structure at the level of the institute and the country. Co-authorship networks play a significant role in analyzing scientific collaboration and assessing the status of individual researchers. While they bear some resemblance to extensively studied citation networks, co-authorship networks signify a more robust social connection than mere citations. Unlike citations, which can occur between authors who are unfamiliar with each other and extend over time, co-authorship signifies a collegial and time-bound relationship, making it a focal point of Social Network Analysis (SNA) (Acedo et al., 2006 ; Fischbach and Schoder, 2011 ). To build the collaboration network, Louvain method was used as a clustering algorithm (Lu and Wolfram, 2012 ). The threshold of 50 as the number of nodes and 2 as the minimum edges were considered to avoid isolated and “one-time” collaboration. The nodes depicting isolation due to a lack of ties or relationships were removed.

Furthermore, in the field of social network analysis, centrality measures are crucial when examining the status of actors within a network. While various methods and measures are employed in SNA, centrality provides valuable insights into an actor’s position. One commonly used measure is degree centrality, which captures the basic essence of centrality by quantifying the number of connections an actor has with its immediate neighbors in the network. It reflects the total number of edges adjacent to a node and represents the incoming and outgoing links of an actor. Another significant measure is closeness centrality, which focuses on an actor’s proximity to all other actors in the network. While authors may be well-connected within their immediate neighborhood, they could still be part of partially isolated groups. Despite having strong local connections, their overall centrality might be limited. Closeness centrality extends the concept of degree centrality by emphasizing an author’s closeness to all other authors. Calculating closeness centrality requires determining the shortest distances between a node and all other authors, and then converting these values into a metric of closeness. A central author in the network is identified by having multiple short links to other authors. In addition, betweenness centrality offers a distinct perspective on centrality. It measures how often a particular node lies on the shortest path between pairs of nodes in the network. Nodes that frequently appear on these paths are considered highly central as they regulate the flow of information within the network. Although betweenness centrality can be applied to disconnected networks, it may result in numerous nodes with zero centrality since many nodes may not act as bridges within the network. This measure is based on the number of shortest routes passing through an actor. Actors with high betweenness centrality act as “middlemen,” linking different groups together.

Network analysis software enables the computation of centrality measures such as degree, betweenness, and closeness. These measures hold varying significance based on the specific network under examination. For instance, within a co-authorship network, an author’s degree centrality reflects the number of co-authored papers with other authors (Fischbach and Schoder, 2011 ). High betweenness centrality suggests that an author serves as a crucial link between distinct research streams. Furthermore, authors with high closeness centrality can establish connections with other authors in the network through shorter paths. UCINET (Borgatti et al., 2002 ) and Pajek (Batagelj and Mrvar, 1998 ) are the predominant software packages employed for network visualization purposes. For the present study, Pajek was employed to examine the social network and conduct centrality analyses.

We addressed RQ3 by using co-word analysis to gather concept space knowledge by utilizing the co-occurrence frequency of keywords. A co-word network is prepared based on the co-occurrence of words to examine specific areas of interest in crisis communication. We performed co-occurrence network analysis and hierarchical clustering to identify clusters that represent common concepts. The results were then described on the thematic map and theme evolution space. We considered 50 nodes as a threshold and a minimum of two edges for each node. Further, we chose the Louvain method for the clustering algorithm and the association as the normalization parameter for the analysis. Thematic mapping, built upon the keyword co-occurrence network and clusters, was performed to study the conceptual structure. We divided the evolution of thematic areas into four distinct periods (1968–1999, 2000–2007, 2008–2014, 2015–2022). These thematic areas represent a group of evolved themes across different subperiods. The evolution of key themes helps to understand variations in the research stream as well as provide necessary directions for future research., while interconnections link one theme with another thematic area. We also developed a thematic map representing four different themes based on their placement in the quadrant (Cobo et al., 2012 ), for example,

Themes placed in the upper-right quadrant are based on strong centrality and high density. These are the motor themes which are well developed and are important for shaping the research field.

Themes placed in the upper-left quadrant refer to the niche themes that are specialized and that depict peripheral characteristics.

Themes placed in the lower-left quadrant refer to the emerging or disappearing themes. They depict weak centrality and low density. Such themes are weakly developed.

Themes placed in the lower-right quadrant refer to the basic themes. These themes are important to the research field but are underdeveloped.

For addressing the RQ4, we performed co-citation analysis to develop clusters depicting the intellectual base of the field. Co-citation refers to the citation of two (or more than two) articles in the third article, which is the counterpart of bibliographic coupling. The Louvain method was used as a clustering algorithm to develop the co-citation network considering articles, authors, and sources. A threshold of 50 for a number of nodes, and 20 as the minimum edge strength (representing approximately 5% of the corpora in crisis communication) was considered. This as a whole aided in performing cluster level analysis.

Finally, the synthesis of the results of RQ1, RQ2, RQ3, and RQ4 helped to address the RQ5.

Scientific output (RQ1)

This section elaborates on the research landscape of crisis communication from 1968 to 2022. We gathered a total of 1850 articles by 3277 authors from 1222 institutions published in 646 journals as per the set criteria.

Publication output

The contribution to the field is highest through journal articles with over 95%, followed by review articles (4.7%). Moreover, around 28% of the articles are single-authored publications, while 72% are published in collaboration. The overall annual production of articles in crisis communication shows an exponential growth (Supplementary Fig. S1 ). The growth of the articles is stagnant between 1968 and 2000, with a few publications until 2000. However, growth is evident from the early 2000s, crossing double-digit publications annually. From 2015 onwards, annual publication growth improves by over 100 publications. Between 2020 and 2022, the annual publication count increases by over 200. Since 2015, the number of annual publications has been larger than the cumulative number of articles published before 2015. Overall, the annual growth rate of the research articles is 15% (the calculation does not include the period 1968–2000 and 2022 due to sensitivity).

Source output

A total of 1850 articles have appeared in 646 journals. The leading journals are the Public Relations Review which has hosted 249 publications, followed by the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management with 65 publications. Subsequently, the Journal of Communication Management has hosted 51 publications, followed by Corporate Communications with 48 publications, and then the Journal of Public Relations Research with 37 publications, respectively (Supplementary Table S2 ). The subject of crisis communication also belongs to the broader area of public relations and communication, which matches with the aims and scope of these journals. Additionally, the most cited sources, showcasing that the Public Relations Review has fetched the highest citations of 8284, followed by Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management with 1539 citations. Subsequently, the Journal of Applied Communications Research has fetched 1522 citations, followed by the Journal of Public Relations Research with 1333 citations, and Corporate Reputation Review with 1158 citations, respectively. The Public Relations Review is identified as the top outlet for publication having the highest impact in the crisis communication field.

Most productive authors

Considering our dataset, 3277 authors from 1222 organizations have published articles on crisis communication. Sellnow has published the maximum number of articles with 35 publications on crisis communication, followed by Jin with 34 articles (Supplementary Table S3 ). Subsequently, Liu has published 33 articles followed by Spence with 28 articles, and then Lachlan has published 27 articles.

The author’s productivity and impact are measured considering the number of published articles and citations per year. It can be noted that Sellnow, Jin, Liu, Spence, and Lachlan are the most productive authors. While Coombs, Jin, Holladay, Liu, and Sellnow have received the highest citations (Supplementary Fig. S4 ). Scholars argue that the total citations received is not the only metric that determines the author’s production (Forliano et al., 2021 ; Huang and Hsu, 2005 ). Thus, we used three indicators—m-index, h-index, and the total citations (Supplementary Table S5 ). The most cited authors having more than 1000 citations in the database are Coombs (with 3418 citations), Jin (with 1914 citations), Holladay (1833 with citations), Liu (with 1655 citations), Sellnow (with 1299 citations), Spence (with 1200 citations), and Seeger (with 1095 citations). However, Coombs (TC = 3418 and h index = 18), Jin (TC = 1914 and h-index = 20) and Liu (TC = 1299 and h-index = 18) and Sellnow (TC = 1299 and h-index = 20) have the best combination of productivity and impact (Hirsch, 2005 ). For example, Coombs with h-index 18 has published 18 articles that have received at least 18 citations. Out of the top 20 contributors, 11 authors have h-index of at least 10. Hirsch ( 2007 ) suggests considering the contribution of young authors by the metric m-index, which determines the h-index weighted for the activity period of an author. Hence, young authors such as Claeys, Cauberghie, Kim, and Liu who started publishing from 2009 can be counted amongst the most influential authors.

Most productive institution

The most active organizations in this field are the University of Maryland (with 79 publications), the University of Kentucky (with 75 publications), the University of Florida (with 51 publications), the University of Georgia (with 50 publications), and Nanyang Technological University (with 49 publications) (Supplementary Table S6 ).

Most productive countries

Scholars argue that multi-authored publications might not represent the open collaborations dimensions of the most prolific countries publishing the articles. Thus, three different metrics are considered: SCP (single-country publication; intra-country publications), MCP (multiple-country publications; inter-country publications) and MCP ratio (ratio between MCPs and the total number of publications in the database TC; Supplementary Table S7 ). The MCP ratio determines the level of openness of the country to collaborate. It is noted that the intra-country publications are highest in the USA (SCP = 589), Germany (SCP = 51), China (SCP = 42), Sweden (SCP = 42), and the United Kingdom (SCP = 41) while inter-country publications are highest in the USA (MCP = 41), Korea (MCP = 23), the United Kingdom (MCP = 20), China (MCP = 17), and Hong Kong (MCP = 15). However, considering the MCP ratio, Hong Kong (MCP ratio = 0.555), Korea (MCP ratio = 0.54), Finland (MCP ratio = 0.33), the United Kingdom (MCP ratio = 0.32), and China (MCP ratio = 0.28) showcase openness in collaborations. It is surprising to note that the top 2 countries (USA and Germany) despite publishing the highest number of articles have limited openness in international collaborations as per the MCP ratio.

Additionally, considering total citations and production, the US emerges as the leader in production and impact; however, Korea, Netherlands, and Australia show a rising trend in terms of the impact, while China and Sweden, a declining trend (Supplementary Table S8 ).

Social structure (RQ2)

In this section, we performed analysis of collaborations patterns across three levels: author, institution, and country. Crisis communication has received contributions from 75 countries and 1222 different institutions publishing 1850 articles that depict global attention given to the field. In the database, multiple-authored articles (72% of the total published articles) are higher than single-authored articles.

Authors’ social structure

Figure 1 shows 11 clusters (in different colors) of the 36 most influential authors. Out of these 11 clusters, 6 are dominated by double authors while rest have more than two authors. Among the double author collaborations clusters, the one including Coombs and Holladay leads in terms of contribution and impact.

The network depicts 11 clusters.

Institutions’ social structure

Figure 2 shows the collaborations among the institutions. The institutional social structure is dominated by two clusters—cluster 1 (red color) and cluster 2 (blue color)—are led by University of Maryland and University of Kentucky, respectively.

The network depicts five clusters.

Countries’ social structure

Figure 3 depicts country-wise social collaborations. The USA leads in terms of contribution and collaboration while countries like Malaysia and Nigeria show minimal collaborations. This indicates that there is a dearth of contributions from developing economies. Thus, investigating crisis communication in this context may be considered for further research.

Social network perspective

We gathered a total of 1850 articles by 3277 authors from 1222 institutions published in 646 journals as per the set criteria. For a deeper insights, we examined the social network measures at two levels. Firstly, at the cluster level network for authors (Fig. 1 ), institutes (Fig. 2 ), and countries (Fig. 3 ). Secondly, for the complete social network for authors, institutes and countries, See Fig. S10 .

Betweenness centrality is a measure that quantifies the number of shortest routes passing through an actor in a network. Actors with high betweenness centrality play a crucial role in linking different groups together, acting as “middlemen”. In Table S9 , we observed that Liu for cluster 1, has the highest betweenness centrality (140), followed by Jin (89.7), Besides, Herovic for cluster 8, has the highest betweenness centrality (114), followed by Sellnow (104) in the studied network. This indicates that they serves as a central figure, connecting authors within the network in the field of crisis communication in Scopus from 1968 to 2022.

Furthermore, authors with a high closeness centrality are connected to all other authors through a small number of routes or paths, indicating their strong proximity to the entire network. A central author is distinguished by having numerous short connections to other authors within the network. According to the closeness centrality values presented in Table S9 where each clusters has more than 5 nodes, Liu in cluster 1, Claeys in cluster 2 and Herovic in cluster 8 exhibits the highest closeness centrality in their cluster network.

In Table S10 , we observed that University of Georgia for cluster 2, has the highest betweenness centrality (144.90), followed by University of Maryland (122.32). Besides, University of Tennessee takes the third place (112.32) in the studied network. This indicates that they serve as a central figure/point, connecting institutions within the network in the field of crisis communication in Scopus from 1968 to 2022. Furthermore, considering cluster nodes greater than 5, University of Maryland in cluster 2, and University of Kentucky in cluster 4 exhibit the highest closeness centrality in the their cluster network.

In Table S11 , we observed that USA for cluster 2, has the highest betweenness centrality (377.40), followed by United Kingdom (180.57), Besides, Italy takes the third place (68) in the studied network. This indicates that they act as a central figure, connecting country’s within the network in the field of crisis communication in Scopus from 1968 to 2022. Furthermore, considering cluster nodes greater than 5, USA in cluster 2, and “Italy” in cluster 1 exhibit the highest closeness centrality in the their cluster network.

Furthermore, when we examined the complete social network (Fig. S10 ) of authors, institutes and country based on the degree centrality, closeness and betweenness metrics, we identified significant insights and patterns. For example, as per Table S12 , among the authors listed, Lachlan has the highest author centrality score of 37, indicating a significant level of influence or importance within the field. Sellnow closely follows with a centrality score of 31, while Spence, Jin, and Claeys have scores of 34, 29, and 24, respectively. In terms of university centrality, the University of Kentucky has the highest score of 24, suggesting it holds a prominent position within the academic network. The University of Maryland and the University of Georgia share the second-highest centrality score of 20, followed by Virginia Commonwealth University with 15 and the University of Central Florida with 14. The country with the highest centrality score is the USA, with a score of 159. It is followed by the UK with a score of 91, China with 49, Australia with 41, and Spain with 37.

Based on the closeness centrality values presented in Table S13 , notable patterns emerged in the author, institutes, and country networks. In the author network, Jiu takes the lead with the highest closeness centrality score of 0.206531, closely followed by Herovic with 0.194615, Jin with 0.180714, and Sellnow and Kim with 0.171525. Shifting focus to the institutes network, the University of Maryland claims the top position with a score of 0.340000 in closeness centrality. Following closely behind is the University of Kentucky with 0.330000, the University of Tennessee with 0.325217, the University of Georgia with 0.320571, and the University of Central Florida with 0.295263. These institutions exhibit high closeness centrality, indicating their efficient access to information and strong connectivity within their respective networks. In the country network, the USA secures the highest closeness score of 0.660000, showcasing its exceptional accessibility and connectivity within the network. The United Kingdom follows closely with a score of 0.628571, demonstrating its strong network presence. Spain exhibits a score of 0.557746, Italy with 0.542466, and Australia and Sweden share a closeness score of 0.535135, all highlighting their significant connectivity and influence within the country network.

In Table S14 , a comprehensive view of betweenness centrality scores revealed significant insights into the network of authors and universities, along with their respective countries. Liu emerges as the most influential figure with the highest betweenness centrality score of 0.119048, followed closely by Sellnow with a score of 0.088435, and then Jin with 0.076288. These authors hold crucial positions, acting as central connectors within the field of crisis communication. Examining the betweenness centrality scores for universities, the University of Kentucky stands out with the highest score of 0.176513, occupying a prominent central position within the institution network. Following closely, the University of Georgia secures a score of 0.123216, and the University of Maryland follows suit with a score of 0.104022. Additionally, the University of Central Florida and the Nanyang Technological University both showcase their relevance, claiming positions in the top 5 among university betweenness centrality scores. Analyzing country betweenness centrality, the USA leads with the highest score of 0.320927, indicating its pivotal role in connecting various entities within the global network. The UK follows with a score of 0.153552, showcasing its significant influence as well. Australia, Italy, and Spain also demonstrate their bridging capacities, garnering respective scores of 0.082574, 0.058308, and 0.045895.

Conceptual structures (RQ3)

Scholars have argued the utility of keywords and co-occurrence analysis to develop prevalent themes in the underlying research field. The year wise cumulative occurrences of keywords depict dominance of “crisis communication” (Supplementary Fig. S9 ). The outcome of co-occurrence analysis is theme clusters. To explore the scientific knowledge structure of the field, in this study, a threshold of 500 author keywords was deployed. To explore the thematic evolution of crisis communication, four “time-slicing” periods were examined considering the publications growth, (Supplementary Fig. 1 ). These time periods are considered for the overall time distribution of publications: 1968–1999, 2000–2007, 2008–2014, 2015–2022. The time based thematic coverage analysis is based on four different quadrants (Cobo et al., 2012 ): motor themes, basic themes, niche themes, and emerging or disappearing themes.

First period (1968–1999)

During the period between 1968 and 1999, there is a limited development of the intellectual base depicting the emergence of only a few major themes. Crisis communication in the basic theme, plays a foundational role in defining the structure of the field during the first period. The basic theme indicates that “crisis communication” provided the foundation for exploring crisis management and issue management, which are important basic terms during this period. Advertising is identified as an emerging theme, with the focus on branding, e-communication, effective communication, image building, positioning, and reputation. The motor theme that emerges in this period is crisis focusing on crisis management and image restoration. However, this period does not identify niche themes.

During this period, several scholars have discussed the purpose and importance of reputation and advertising during crisis communication. Williams and Treadaway ( 1992 ) attribute the failure of Exxon’s crisis communication to the delay in the initial response and ineffective use of burden-sharing and scapegoating strategies. Argenti ( 1997 ), while exploring the “Dow Corning’s Breast Implant Controversy” case, identifies that the corporate (Dow Corning) failed to consider the reputation as a strategic tool during the crisis and poorly communicated with the stakeholders. Versailles ( 1999 ) argues the role of effective communication in shaping and building a reputation for Hydro-Québec’s crisis communication. Likewise, U.S. airlines gained public support and confidence after the 9/11 crisis by using timely and honest communication, and by utilizing appropriate crisis response strategies such as suffering (Coombs, 1995 ; Massey, 2005 ). Saliou ( 1994 ) advocates using an adaptive crisis communication strategy to defuse panic, avoid rumors and vulnerability, manage local and global stakeholders, and disseminate information to target groups. Advertising, on the other hand, plays a critical role in building reputation during crises (Versailles, 1999 ).

Second period (2000–2007)

The thematic focus during 2000 and 2007 indicates an expansion of the intellectual base with a diverse set of concepts.This suggests a slight paradigm shift toward recognizing crisis communication as a multi-dimensional theme. Motor themes in this period are: risk assessment, leadership, attribution, and public health. In the motor theme, public health and attribution dominate the theme. For the public health theme the focus is on the exploration of disaster communication, flu pandemic communication and terrorism management, while the attribution theme focuses on responsibility and accountability. Surprisingly, the basic themes have a large coverage focusing on corporate image, public relations, crisis communication and crisis. Crisis communication dominates the basic theme by having a larger coverage on risk communication, media relations, image repair, political communication, crisis management, and response strategies. The theme public relations focuses on crisis planning, conflict management, corporate image, and corporate communication. The presence of niche theme - attribution and emerging theme - communication strategies is also evident.

During this period, the focus is majorly on the developments of appropriate theoretical frameworks. Hearit’s ( 2001 ) theory of corporate apologia proposes the rhetorical concept of self-defense, wherein organizations are seen as possessing public characters, and this provides momentum to the term reputation. Kauffman ( 2001 ) argues that NASA’s timely, honest, and open communication regarding the Apollo 13 crisis with the public and stakeholders, bolstered its image and attracted public and congress support for further manned space explorations. Coombs ( 2007a , 2007b ) attribution theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) suggest embracing the field’s evolution and the influx of empirical methods in the context of crisis communication (Arpan and Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2005 ). More emphasis is given to prescriptive, rather than descriptive methods of investigation and analysis. Attribution is directly linked to people’s need to search for causes of the event (Weiner, 1986 ), making it logical to connect crisis with attribution theory (Coombs, 2007a ). Cowden and Sellnow ( 2002 ) explores the role of attribution as part of the image restoration strategies for Northwest Airlines (NWA) in proactively reducing the culpability of the strike. Gallagher et al. ( 2007 ) argue that an organization’s decision to acknowledge its role in the crisis is vital for crisis communication and for establishing public relations. It is important to be in sync with health systems to share relevant and appropriate information. For example, Mebane et al. ( 2003 ) find that a deviation of media and information shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) related to Anthrax caused panic. Various empirical studies have attempted a prescriptive approach to analyzing the crisis. Additionally, public segmentation in communicating (Rawlins and Bowen, 2005 ) enhances the organization’s public relations. By doing so, organizations become aware of customers’ perceptions of the crisis response, thereby offering appropriate public relations communication.

Third period (2008–2014)

In this period, the number of annually published articles increases remarkably. Seven major themes emerge and their spread is evident in the four quadrants. There is a presence of a niche theme in terms of risk and crisis communication, focusing on health communication, pandemic, flu, H1N1, influenza, and risk perception. However, strong linkages are witnessed between health communication, and response strategy. The theme risk and crisis communication focuses on organizational communication, political communication, internal communication, and corporate communication. In addition, response strategy is closely linked to organizational communication, and crisis response. The emerging theme identifies situational crisis communication as a collective theme that focuses on leadership, contingency, crisis response strategy, ethos, crisis responsibility, image repair, and threats. The basic theme is dominated by crisis communication and communication. The motor themes include corporate communication, corporate social responsibility, communications and emotions.

Avery et al. ( 2009 ) attribute crisis communication to multiple contexts (e.g., delay, use of scapegoating strategies). Crisis communication, built around the concept of corporate apologia, aims to develop rhetorical strategies to reduce reputational harm and help organizations build images and restore order (Coombs et al., 2010 ). Gallagher et al. ( 2007 ) argue that an organization’s decision to acknowledge its role in the crisis is vital for crisis communication and for establishing public relations. However, when an organization responds in a timely manner and follows transparency in communication, it attracts the trust and support of stakeholders. Identifying the type of response and understanding its consequences also plays a critical role in managing crisis communication. For example, an organization in crisis struggles to choose the correct answer as the choices vary— defensive vs. offensive, reactive vs. proactive, vague vs. transparent, etc. However, to effectively manage crisis communication, an organization must consider reputational, legal and financial outcomes (Avery et al., 2009 ). Internal communication in health organizations is critical for health practices. For example, Schmidt et al. ( 2013 ) identify a lack of correct perception of influenza by healthcare workers, thereby limiting the execution of timely vaccination. Kim and Atkinson ( 2014 ) identify critical factors such as brand ownership, exposure to media, and involvement with the crisis and consider advertising as a tool to communicate with consumers during the crisis to shape reputation.

Fourth period (2015–2022)

In this period, the field grows multidimensionally, including all the four themes. The motor theme includes COVID-19, and crisis management. The emerging theme focuses on crisis. The basic theme represents crisis communication and the emerging theme depicts the importance of public relations, and crisis. The niche theme focuses on risk communication. An interesting insight is the inclusion of the pandemic COVID-19 under the motor theme, which is strongly related to the niche theme in the earlier period. This shows that this period witnessed a dramatic shift in the themes and focal interest.

During this period, both scholars and practitioners consider the use of social media as a new-age communication tool, as it helps to offer direct and personalized communication to social media consumers. Such communication helps to shape and build reputation during a crisis. For example, Wang ( 2016 ) argues that social media is an effective crisis communication tool for turning crises into opportunities. Ho et al. ( 2017 ) propose a corporate crisis advertising framework and validate its applicability in managing and restoring an organization’s reputation. The authors also focus on the role of omni-channel (e.g., social media, print media, TV, radio) and short-, medium-, and long-term crisis communication plans to manage and shape their reputations. Additionally, Claeys and Opgenhaffen ( 2021 ) argue that to manage crisis communication effectively impact of reputational consequences and legal and financial outcomes needs to be considered. Hyland-Wood et al. ( 2021 ) argue on deploying crisis communication responses by including clear messages shared through appropriate channels and trusted sources. Such messages are customized to attract diverse audience members. Additionally, public segmentation in communicating (Rawlins and Bowen, 2005 ) enhances the organization’s public relations (Wen et al., 2021 ). By doing so, organizations become aware of customers’ perceptions of the crisis response and thereby offer appropriate public relations communication. Santosa et al. ( 2021 ) argue using varied public relations professionals’ communication strategies based on gender. Moreover, Malik et al. ( 2021 ) highlight the role of health organizations in countering misinformation on social media. They suggest that few elements such as timely and accurate information, and inclusion of credible sources help to streamline the facts.

Overall themes

Figure 4 shows the development of the four major clusters. The number of times the term is used is proportional to the size of the node. The nodes that are closely linked are the proximate nodes, while the thickness of the links connecting the nodes is proportional to the strength of the connection.

The network depicts four clusters.

Cluster 1: crisis communication and social media

The largest cluster (in red) includes 23 items and is mainly related to crisis response strategies, strategic communication, situational crisis communication, and communication on social media. The linkages to terms such as image repair, internal communication, and corporate communication may indicate that crisis communication concerns related to organizations can provide multiple co-benefits and strengthen public relations (Coombs, 2021 ; Tornero et al., 2021 ).

Cluster 2: health communication

Cluster 2 (in blue) consists of ten items and mainly covers issues related to public health and health communication. This cluster has strong links to infectious disease outbreaks, pandemics, and associated risk communication. Moreover, the inclusion of political communication to deal with the level of severity of the threat or risk is found to be critical.

Cluster 3: crisis and leadership

Cluster 3 (in green) includes ten items and focuses on two major areas: crisis and leadership. Other terms, such as disaster, risk, apology, resilience, and reputation are closely related to crisis and leadership.

Cluster 4: reputation and advertising

Cluster 4 (in purple) includes seven items and focuses on two major aspects: reputation and advertising for brand building. This cluster has strong links to corporate reputation, media, trust, advertising, and leadership. Related terms are closely linked to reputation that may indicate strategic alignment of leadership to communicate effectively (Coombs and Holladay, 2002 ).

Intellectual structure (RQ4)

In this section, we examined the intellectual collaborations patterns across three levels: author, sources, and documents. We performed the co-citation network analyses to explore the intellectual structure. Figure 5 presents two clusters that dominate the intellectual structure based on the authors. Cluster 1 (in blue color) is driven by Kim, Jin, Liu, Lee, Veil Smith, and Schultz, while cluster 2 (in red color) is driven by the contributions of Coombs, Benoit, Seeger, Heath, and Ullmer. Cluster segmentation depicts diverse dominant areas of research interests among the authors.

The network depicts two clusters.

Figure 6 presents the development of three major clusters showcasing the intellectual structure of the research in crisis communication based on sources. Cluster 1 (in red color) is dominated by Public Relations Review, Journal of Public Relations Research , and Journal of Applied Communication Research . Cluster 2 (in green) is driven by Corporate Reputation review, Journal of Personality and Psychology, Journal of Business Research and Business Horizons . However, Cluster 3 (in blue), is driven by Management Communication Quarterly, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, and Journal of Business Communication .

The network depicts three clusters.

Figure 7 presents the development of three major clusters showcasing the intellectual structure of the research in crisis communication based on contributed papers. Cluster 1 (in red color) is dominated by Coombs ( 2007b ), Coombs and Holladay ( 2002 ), and Coombs ( 1998 ). Cluster 2 (in blue color) is driven by Benoit ( 1995 ), Benoit ( 1997 ), Seeger ( 2006 ) and Schultz et al. ( 2011 ). Cluster 3 (in green color) is driven by Schultz et al. ( 2011 ), Coombs ( 2009 ), and Jin ( 2010 ). The cluster segmentation depicts the diverse dominant areas of research interests among the authors.

Crisis communication is one of the most important critical elements of the communication research. The availability of large corpora of literature on crisis communication necessitated a bibliometric approach to study its evolution and growth in the communication field. We adopted bibliometric visualization techniques to understand the trajectory of crisis communication scholarship. First, we used descriptive analysis to study the prominent contributors to the field with respect to the authors, sources, institutions, and countries. We portrayed the growth trajectory and presented the trend analysis including the most productive and impactful authors, sources, countries and institutions. Second, the co-authorship analysis was done to project the social structures of the crisis communication research. This enabled us to present the social collaboration relationship of different, authors institutions and countries. Besides, we performed the analysis of social network measures to explore valuable insights into the dynamics of collaboration within the crisis communication domain. To delve deeper into the networks, we examined the cluster-level networks for authors, institutes, and countries, as well as the complete social network. The network measures (degree centrality, closeness and betweenness) shed light on the pivotal actors, institutes, and countries within the crisis communication domain, illustrating their roles as central connectors and influential figures. The findings have provided valuable insights into the collaborative landscape, facilitating a deeper understanding of the dynamics and relationships that shape the field of crisis communication in Scopus from 1968 to 2022.

Third, we performed the co-word analysis to gather concept space knowledge by utilizing the co-occurrence frequency of keywords. Subsequently, co-occurrence network analysis and clustering were used to identify clusters that represent common concepts. The keywords co-occurrence network and clusters developed the thematic mapping and thus presented the conceptual structure. Fourth, we performed the co-citation analysis of author, reference and sources to develop the intellectual structure of the field. This projected the network relationship among the authors.

Theoretical implications and roadmap for future research

This paper is one of its own kind, in which co-occurrence, co-authorship and co-citation analyses were performed to understand the growth and development of crisis communication research in the communication field. This paper presents the advantages of bibliometric analysis over the traditional methods in the study of crisis communication literature. For example, bibliometric analysis not only covers the full spectrum of the available literature, but it also objectively navigates the development of the field by exploring the social, conceptual and intellectual structures of the crisis communication research, while, traditional methods are unable to capture and synthesize large datasets of authors and articles (García-Lillo et al., 2016 ).

By utilizing bibliometric visualization, this study examines the patterns of interactions among key authors and articles; and develops clusters of research themes. The interaction patterns and relationships provide insights into the knowledge domain (Hu and Racherla, 2008 ), while clustering technique depicts key papers with similarities in topics (Chen, 2006 ). Bibliometric visualizations facilitate a display of temporal data in different colors. Additionally, a longitudinal view in the form of four quadrants provides the thematic evolution of crisis communication research and presents the evolution and growth of major themes. These projections aid researchers in identifying research boundaries and display recent themes (Chen, 2006 ).

This paper presents insights into the intellectual, social and conceptual structures of the crisis communication field. The other major contribution of the study is the formulation of the research questions which are mentioned in the methodology section. RQ1 findings identified core sources, authors, countries, publications, and affiliations to examine prominent contributors to the literature on crisis communication. We observed that 3277 authors from 1222 institutions published 1850 articles in 646 journals addressing crisis communication within more than 50 years (with the first publication being released in 1968). Though Sellnow appeared to be contributing the highest number of articles with the most extended unbroken series of publications from 1993 to 2022, Coombs received the best combination of productivity and impact (TC = 3418 and h-index = 18). Our results also corroborate with other bibliometric studies where the author’s production and impact are measured considering the number of articles published, total citations, and h-index (for example, Forliano et al., 2021 ). Moreover, among the young and influential authors the works of Claeys, Cauberghie, Kim and Lin are noteworthy. Further the annual scientific publication growth was stagnant in Period 1 and increased in Period 2. However, rapid growth was evident after 2015, in Period 4. This may be attributed to the wide availability of information channels and global events (Maal and Wilson-North, 2019 ). Public Relations Review outranks all other journals by publishing the highest number of articles (249) on crisis communication. This journal published thrice more than the number of articles published by the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management which stood second in the list. These results are in concurrence with the earlier studies that found Public Relations Review published the highest number of articles (e.g., An and Cheng, 2010 ; Avery et al., 2010 ).

RQ2 examined the social structure of the crisis communication research domain. Borgatti et al. ( 2013 ) and Grace et al. ( 2020 ) suggest that social collaborations are majorly driven by geographic and institutional proximity. This is corroborated in the current study as well. Country collaboration depicts network of authors and we observed that the concentration of the publication corpora was within a few countries, out of which the USA depicted a huge presence. We also observed that the most productive countries do not always have high openness in collaborations. This observation should encourage more scholars to consider contributing to the present debate and enhance cross country collaborations (Massaro et al., 2016 ). We noticed that the contributions in crisis communication were fragmented despite receiving increased attention in the recent years. Hence a proper synthesis and systemization of work is potent to expand the crisis communication production and impact. We identified 11 co-author clusters depicting the most influential scholars with confined collaborations. Out of these, 6 clusters had collaborations of only two influential scholars. We observed that 28% of contributions were from single-authored publications. We suggest that more scholars should contribute to the crisis communication space. The results from the co-authorship network present the current state of collaboration and the most influential authors on crisis communication. Our evidence suggests that there is relatively little collaboration among authors, and much of this is localized. We noticed that the social structure at the level of institutions is dominated by the universities in the USA (e.g., University of Maryland and University of Kentucky). According to the social collaboration structure, the contribution of developing countries is minimal in the crisis communication space. Thus, more collaborations and empirical evidence may be solicited from the developing countries.

RQ3 explored popular themes in the crisis communication literature with the help of keywords and co-occurrence (or co-word) analysis. Overall, four major themes emerged: (a) crisis communication and social media (b) health communication, (c) crisis and leadership, and (d) reputation and advertising. The keywords related to the themes were a part of the crisis communication evolution during the study period (1968–2022). The results of our citation analysis suggest that a limited number of articles have shaped the field. We observed a clear shift in crisis communication and response strategies with the onset of omni-channels, such as social media platforms.

RQ4 examined the emergence of two main groups in the intellectual structure (co-citation analysis). Despite having a relatively low number of relational ties, they act as knowledge brokers among the groups. This may be due to closed group collaborations, and thus, better collaborative efforts among scholars are needed. Coombs ( 2007b , 2002 , 1998 ) dominate the intellectual space in terms of the document-based intellectual structure. The thematic development and its evolution are helpful for scholars, sources (journals), institutions and countries to acquire knowledge on specialized and highly relevant topics. More specifically, niche and emerging themes may address the immediate call for research and collaborations. Journals are encouraged to announce special issues on these themes. Additionally, journals may increase the number of publications as they are ranked among the most impactful ones but have relatively low number of publications.

The findings of the paper has implications for crisis communication research in terms of examining the social, conceptual and intellectual structures of the field. Given the large corpora and growth of crisis communication research over the last 50 years, Biblioshiny, serves as a useful tool to objectively capture the social and intellectual collaborations, growth and evolution of concept and knowledge space of this field (Denyer and Tranfield, 2006 ). These insights, therefore, may be extremely useful to the early scholars or researchers from outside the field (Benckendorff and Zehrer, 2013 ).

The overall findings and analysis of this paper present several opportunities for future research in the field of crisis communication. A list of potential research questions is prepared as the outcome of RQ5 which was accomplished by collating the results of RQ1, RQ2, RQ3, and RQ4.

While research opportunities are immense in crisis communication, the following research questions can be considered for further understanding, see Table 1 :

The findings from our study on social network measures at two levels, namely, cluster-level networks for authors, institutes, and countries, as well as the complete social network for authors, institutes, and countries, have provided valuable insights into the field of crisis communication from 1968 to 2022. The application of network metrics, such as degree centrality, betweenness centrality and closeness centrality, has enabled us to identify key actors, institutions, and countries that play pivotal roles in linking different entities within the crisis communication domain. Figure 8 represents the framework enhancing social collaboration based on the social network analyses.

Identifying Key Connectors: The analysis of betweenness centrality in Tables S9 , S10 , and S11 has revealed central figures, such as Liu and Herovic in the author network, University of Georgia and University of Maryland in the institute network, and USA in the country network. These individuals and entities act as “middlemen,” connecting various clusters and facilitating efficient information flow between different groups. Researchers and policymakers can leverage this insight to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among the identified central figures, thereby enhancing crisis communication efforts globally.

Enhancing Network Proximity: Authors with high closeness centrality scores, like Liu in cluster 1, Claeys in cluster 2, and Herovic in cluster 8, have strong proximity to the entire network. Similarly, institutes with high closeness centrality scores, such as University of Maryland, University of Kentucky, and University of Tennessee, exhibit efficient access to information within their respective clusters. Policymakers and practitioners can focus on strengthening ties and communication channels among these authors and institutions to foster a more cohesive and well-connected crisis communication community.

Promoting Global Collaboration: The country network analysis based on betweenness centrality in Table S11 has highlighted the significant role of countries like the USA, United Kingdom, and Italy in connecting various nations in the crisis communication research domain. This implies that these countries have the potential to facilitate global collaboration and knowledge dissemination. Encouraging international conferences, joint research initiatives, and exchange programs can further strengthen ties between these influential countries and foster a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to crisis communication worldwide.

Identifying Influential Authors and Universities: Table S12 has provided a comprehensive view of the author and university centrality scores. Researchers can collaborate with authors like Lachlan and Sellnow who hold substantial influence and importance within their field. Additionally, universities like University of Kentucky and University of Maryland stand out as prominent knowledge hubs, making them potential partners for collaborative research and academic exchanges.

Leveraging Network Insights for Crisis Management: The identification of influential actors, institutes, and countries through betweenness centrality can be instrumental in strategic crisis management. By collaborating with central figures, crisis communication efforts can be streamlined, and rapid response systems can be developed, ensuring effective handling of crises and their aftermath.

Framework for enhancing social collaboration based on the social network analyses.

Limitations

This study is not devoid of limitations. First, the Scopus database is used to gather a quality dataset for the study. This limits the analysis of publications as other databases such as Google Scholar, WOS, PubMed, etc., might include more publications. Additionally, some conditions were applied to improve the performance analysis (e.g., year of publication, type of document, language). Therefore, future research can address this gap by retrieving datasets from all popular databases for further analysis. Second, the inherent complexity of certain metrics, such as the usage of h-index or comparable metrics, might induce some inconsistencies. As such, future research can provide comparisons of metrics while performing an analysis. Third, a mixed approach (quantitative and qualitative) may be considered in future work to provide more specific analysis in terms of theory, context, and implications. Fourth, currently the social network analyses was limited to two levels—cluster and a complete network considering three measures degree centrality, betweenness, and closeness—to explain social collaborations. However, future research can perform an extensive and detailed social network analyses.

Lastly, Biblioshiny software presents some limitations in terms of database selection, division of periods, threshold selection and adjustment of suitable nodes and links for analysis. These parameters are generally selected by researchers on the basis of past papers, which may yield slightly different networks on account of different settings. However, Biblioshiny with its high stability in running the data provides consistent results for the same data and parameters. This enhances the reliability of the results. Though Biblioshiny offers visualization of data and networks at different depths by zooming-in and zooming-out, such dynamic visualizations are not present in the paper. We recommend inclusion of three-dimensional visualizations for improving visibility and exploring relationships as a separate supplementary material.

Conclusions

This paper presents the first bibliometric study of crisis communication between 1968 and 2022. We critically appraised more than 50 years of crisis communication scholarship, described its intellectual, social, and conceptual structure and its thematic evolution over time, and identified many opportunities and directions for future research. With the publications in the highly reputable journals, the research in crisis communication field has grown exponentially since 1968. Various bibliometric indicators were used to capture the productivity (e.g. total publications) and impact (total citations received, h-index, m-index, citations per year) of authors, sources and countries. We identified four thematic clusters under the conceptual structure by using co-word analysis, such as, crisis communication and social media, health communication, crisis and leadership, and reputation and advertising . The presence of crisis communication as a basic theme in all the four periods demonstrate that though the theme is important to the research field but it is underdeveloped. Collaboration analysis showed that the most productive countries do not always have high openness in collaborations. Further, the findings depicted relatively little collaboration among authors, and much of it was localized. More openness in country-wise collaborations along with examination of niche and emerging themes may provide immense opportunities for future research. Our study on social network measures has shed light on key actors, institutes, and countries in the field of crisis communication. The implications of this research extend beyond academic curiosity, as the identified central figures and well-connected entities offer potential avenues for strengthening global crisis communication networks and enhancing collaborative efforts in times of need. Policymakers, researchers, and practitioners should capitalize on these insights to create a more resilient and responsive crisis communication landscape for the future.Thus, this paper attempts to make a prominent contribution by presenting the growth of the field along with future research opportunities.This paper will help both the scholars and the practitioners with a comprehensive review of the scholarly literature on crisis communication to address the future needs and to explore proposed avenues for further research.

Data availability

The data analyzed in this study is subject to the licenses/restrictions: original data were sourced where indicated from the Scopus. Requests to access these datasets should be directed to https://www.scopus.com/home.uri .

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Upadhyay, S., Upadhyay, N. Mapping crisis communication in the communication research: what we know and what we don’t know. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10 , 632 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02069-z

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• v.3(6); 2007 Nov

Developing Effective Communication Skills

A practicing oncologist likely uses just about every medium to communicate. They talk on the phone, send e-mail messages, converse one-on-one, participate in meetings, and give verbal and written orders. And they communicate with many audiences—patients and their families, referring physicians, and office staff.

But are you communicating effectively? How do you handle differing or challenging perspectives? Are you hesitant to disagree with others, especially those in authority? Do you find meetings are a waste of time? What impression does your communication style make on the members of your group?

Be an Active Listener

The starting place for effective communication is effective listening. “Active listening is listening with all of one's senses,” says physician communication expert Kenneth H. Cohn, MD, MBA, FACS. “It's listening with one's eyes as well as one's years. Only 8% of communication is related to content—the rest pertains to body language and tone of voice.” A practicing surgeon as well as a consultant, Cohn is the author of Better Communication for Better Care and Collaborate for Success!

Kenneth H. Cohn, MD, MBA, FACS

Cohn suggests creating a setting in which “listening can be accommodating.” For example, don't have a conversation when one person is standing and one person is sitting—make sure your eyes are at the same level. Eliminate physical barriers, such as a desk, between you and the other party. Acknowledge the speaker with your own body language: lean forward slightly and maintain eye contact. Avoid crossing your arms, which conveys a guarded stance and may suggest arrogance, dislike, or disagreement.

When someone is speaking, put a premium on “being present.” Take a deep breath (or drink some water to keep from speaking) and create a mental and emotional connection between you and the speaker. “This is not a time for multitasking, but to devote all the time to that one person,” Cohn advises. “If you are thinking about the next thing you have to do or, worse, the next thing you plan to say, you aren't actively listening.”

Suspending judgment is also part of active listening, according to Cohn. Encourage the speaker to fully express herself or himself—free of interruption, criticism, or direction. Show your interest by inviting the speaker to say more with expressions such as “Can you tell me more about it?” or “I'd like to hear about that.”

Finally, reflect back to the speaker your understanding of what has been said, and invite elaboration and clarification. Responding is an integral part of active listening and is especially important in situations involving conflict.

In active listening, through both words and nonverbal behavior, you convey these messages to the speaker:

• I understand your problem
• I know how you feel about it
• I am interested in what you are saying
• I am not judging you

Communication Is a Process

Effective communication requires paying attention to an entire process, not just the content of the message. When you are the messenger in this process, you should consider potential barriers at several stages that can keep your intended audience from receiving your message.

Be aware of how your own attitudes, emotions, knowledge, and credibility with the receiver might impede or alter whether and how your message is received. Be aware of your own body language when speaking. Consider the attitudes and knowledge of your intended audience as well. Diversity in age, sex, and ethnicity or race adds to the communication challenges, as do different training backgrounds.

Individuals from different cultures may assign very different meanings to facial expressions, use of space, and, especially, gestures. For example, in some Asian cultures women learn that it is disrespectful to look people in the eye and so they tend to have downcast eyes during a conversation. But in the United States, this body language could be misinterpreted as a lack of interest or a lack of attention.

Choose the right medium for the message you want to communicate. E-mail or phone call? Personal visit? Group discussion at a meeting? Notes in the margin or a typed review? Sometimes more than one medium is appropriate, such as when you give the patient written material to reinforce what you have said, or when you follow-up a telephone conversation with an e-mail beginning, “As we discussed.…”

For one-on-one communication, the setting and timing can be critical to communicating effectively. Is a chat in the corridor OK, or should this be a closed-door discussion? In your office or over lunch? Consider the mindset and milieu of the communication receiver. Defer giving complex information on someone's first day back from vacation or if you are aware of situations that may be anxiety-producing for that individual. Similarly, when calling someone on the phone, ask initially if this is a convenient time to talk. Offer to set a specific time to call back later.

Finally, organize content of the message you want to communicate. Make sure the information you are trying to convey is not too complex or lengthy for either the medium you are using or the audience. Use language appropriate for the audience. With patients, avoid medical jargon.

Be Attuned to Body Language—Your Own and Others

Many nonverbal cues such as laughing, gasping, shoulder shrugging, and scowling have meanings that are well understood in our culture. But the meaning of some of these other more subtle behaviors may not be as well known. 1

Hand movements. Our hands are our most expressive body parts, conveying even more than our faces. In a conversation, moving your hand behind your head usually reflects negative thoughts, feelings, and moods. It may be a sign of uncertainty, conflict, disagreement, frustration, anger, or dislike. Leaning back and clasping both hands behind the neck is often a sign of dominance.

Blank face. Though theoretically expressionless, a blank face sends a strong do not disturb message and is a subtle sign to others to keep a distance. Moreover, many faces have naturally down turned lips and creases of frown lines, making an otherwise blank face appear angry or disapproving.

Smiling. Although a smile may show happiness, it is subject to conscious control. In the United States and other societies, for example, we are taught to smile whether or not we actually feel happy, such as in giving a courteous greeting.

Tilting the head back. Lifting the chin and looking down the nose are used throughout the world as nonverbal signs of superiority, arrogance, and disdain.

Parting the lips. Suddenly parting one's lips signals mild surprise, uncertainty, or unvoiced disagreement.

Lip compression. Pressing the lips together into a thin line may signal the onset of anger, dislike, grief, sadness, or uncertainty.

Build a Team Culture

In oncology, as in most medical practices, much of the work is done by teams. Communication within a team calls for clarifying goals, structuring responsibilities, and giving and receiving credible feedback.

“Physicians in general are at a disadvantage because we haven't been trained in team communication,” says Cohn. He points out that when he was in business school, as much as 30% to 50% of a grade came from team projects. “But how much of my grade in medical school was from team projects? Zero.”

The lack of systematic education about how teams work is the biggest hurdle for physicians in building a team culture, according to Cohn. “We've learned team behaviors from our clinical mentors, who also had no formal team training. The styles we learn most in residency training are ‘command and control’ and the ‘pace setting approach,’ in which the leader doesn't specify what the expectations are, but just expects people to follow his or her example.”

Cohn says that both of those styles limit team cohesion. “Recognizing one's lack of training is the first step [in overcoming the hurdle], then understanding that one can learn these skills. Listening, showing sincere empathy, and being willing to experiment with new leadership styles, such as coaching and developing a shared vision for the future are key.”

Stated goals and team values. An effective team is one in which everyone works toward a common goal. This goal should be clearly articulated. In patient care, of course, the goal is the best patient outcomes. But a team approach is also highly effective in reaching other goals in a physician practice, such as decreasing patient waiting times, recruiting patients for a clinical trial, or developing a community education program. Every member of the team must be committed to the team's goal and objectives.

Effective teams have explicit and appropriate norms, such as when meetings will be held and keeping information confidential. Keep in mind that it takes time for teams to mature and develop a climate of trust and mutual respect. Groups do not progress from forming to performing without going through a storming phase in which team members negotiate assumptions and expectations for behavior. 2

Clear individual expectations. All the team members must be clear about what is expected of them individually and accept their responsibility for achieving the goal. They should also understand the roles of others. Some expectations may relate to their regular job duties; others may be one-time assignments specific to the team goal. Leadership of the team may rotate on the basis of expertise.

Members must have resources available to accomplish their tasks, including time, education and equipment needed to reach the goal. Openly discuss what is required to get the job done and find solutions together as a team.

Empowerment. Everyone on the team should be empowered to work toward the goal in his or her own job, in addition to contributing ideas for the team as a whole. Physicians' instinct and training have geared them to solve problems and give orders—so they often try to have all the answers. But in an effective team, each team member feels ownership in the outcome and has a sense of shared accountability. Cohn notes, “You get a tremendous amount of energy and buy-in when you ask ‘What do you think?’”

Team members must trust each other with important tasks. This requires accepting others for who they are, being creative, and taking prudent risks. Invite team members to indicate areas in which they would like to take initiative. Empower them by giving them the freedom to exercise their own discretion.

Feedback. Providing feedback on performance is a basic tenet of motivation. For some goals, daily or weekly results are wanted, while for others, such as a report of the number of medical records converted to a new system or the average patient waiting times, a monthly report might be appropriate. Decide together as a team what outcomes should be reported and how often.

Positive reinforcement. Team members should encourage one another. Take the lead and set an example by encouraging others when they are down and praising them when they do well. Thank individuals for their contributions, both one on one and with the team as a whole. Celebrate milestones as a way to sustain team communication and cohesion.

Effective E-mail

E-mail has numerous features that make it a wonderful tool for communicating with a team: it is immediate; it is automatically time-stamped; and filing and organizing are easy. (E-mail with patients is a more complex topic and is not addressed herein.)

The e-mail subject line is an especially useful feature that is typically underused. Make it your best friend. Use it like a newspaper headline, to draw the reader in and convey your main point or alert the reader to a deadline. In the examples given below, the person receiving an e-mail headed “HCC” is likely to scroll past it—planning to read it on the weekend. The more helpful subject line alerts the reader to be prepared to discuss the topic at an upcoming meeting:

•      Vague Subject Line: HCC
•      More Helpful Subject Line: HCC Plan to discuss the SHARP trial this Friday—Your comments due December 5 on attached new policies

As with all written communication, the most important aspect to consider is the audience. Consider the knowledge and biases of the person/people you are e-mailing. Where will the reader be when he or she receives your message? How important is your message to the reader?

The purpose of writing is to engage the reader. You want the reader to do something, to know something, or to feel something. Write it in a way that helps the reader. Put the most important information—the purpose of the email—in the first paragraph.

Except among friends who know you well, stay away from sarcasm in e-mail messages. The receiver does not have the benefit of your tone of voice and body language to help interpret your communication. When delivering comments that are even slightly critical, it's better to communicate in person or in a phone call than to do so in an e-mail. Something you wrote with good intentions and an open mind or even with humor can be interpreted as nitpicky, negative, and destructive, and can be forwarded to others.

Because we use e-mail for its speed, it's easy to get in the habit of dashing off a message and hitting the “send” button. We count on the automatic spell-check (and you should have it turned on as your default option) to catch your errors. But spelling typos are the least of the problems in communicating effectively.

Take the time to read through your message. Is it clear? Is it organized? Is it concise? See if there is anything that could be misinterpreted or raises unanswered questions. The very speed with which we dash off e-mail messages makes e-mail the place in which we are most likely to communicate poorly.

Finally, don't forget to supply appropriate contact information, including phone numbers or alternative e-mail addresses, for responses or questions.

Conflict is inevitable in times of rapid change. Effective communication helps one avoid conflict and minimize its adverse consequences when it does occur. The next issue of Strategies for Career Success will cover conflict management.

What Not to Do When Listening:

• Allow distractions
• Use clichéd phrases such as “I know exactly how you feel,” “It's not that bad,” or “You'll feel better tomorrow”
• Get pulled into responding emotionally
• Change the subject or move in a new direction
• Rehearse in your head what you plan to say next
• Give advice

Make Meetings Work for Your Team

A good meeting is one in which team goals are introduced or reinforced and solutions are generated. The first rule—meet in person only if it's the best format to accomplish what you want. You don't need a meeting just to report information. Here are tips for facilitating an effective meeting:

Don't meet just because it's scheduled. If there are no issues to discuss, don't hold the meeting just because it's Tuesday and that's when you always meet.

Use an agenda. Circulate a timed agenda beforehand and append useful background information. Participants should know what to expect. If it's a short meeting or quickly called, put the agenda on a flipchart or board before people arrive.

Structure input. Promote the team culture by making different individuals responsible for specific agenda items. Follow-up on previous task assignments as the first agenda item to hold group members accountable for the team's success.

Limit the meeting time. Use the timed agenda to stay on track. If the discussion goes off on a tangent, bring the group back to the objective of the topic at hand. If it becomes clear that a topic needs more time, delineate the issues and the involved parties and schedule a separate meeting.

Facilitate discussion. Be sure everyone's ideas are heard and that no one dominates the discussion. If two people seem to talk only to each other and not to the group as a whole, invite others to comment. If only two individuals need to pursue a topic, suggest that they continue to work on that topic outside the meeting.

Set ground rules up front. Keep meetings constructive, not a gripe session. Do not issue reprimands, and make it clear that the meeting is to be positive and intended for updates, analysis, problem solving, and decision making. Create an environment in which disagreement and offering alternative perspectives are acceptable. When individuals do offer opposing opinions, facilitate open discussion that focuses on issues and not personalities.

Circulate a meeting summary before the next meeting. Formal minutes are appropriate for some meetings. But in the very least, a brief summary of actions should be prepared. Include decisions reached and assignments made, with deadlines for follow-up at the next meeting.

Kenneth H. Cohn: Better Communication for Better Care: Mastering Physician-Administrator Collaboration. Chicago, IL, Health Administration Press, 2005, www.ache.org/pubs/redesign/productcatalog.cfm?pc=WWW1-2038

Kenneth H. Cohn: Collaborate for Success! Breakthrough Strategies for Engaging Physicians, Nurses, and Hospital Executives. Chicago, IL, Health Administration Press, 2006, www.ache.org/hap.cfm

Suzette Haden Elgin: Genderspeak: Men, Women, and the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense. Hoboken, NJ, Wiley, 1993

Jon R. Katzenbach, Douglas K. Smith: The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High Performance Organization. New York, NY, Harper Business, 1994

Sharon Lippincott: Meetings: Do's, Don'ts, and Donuts. Pittsburgh, PA, Lighthouse Point Press, 1994

Kenneth W. Thomas: Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building Energy and Commitment. San Francisco, CA, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2000

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The Interview: Make it Work for You—J Oncol Pract 2:252-254, 2006

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Principles and Tactics of Negotiation—J Oncol Pract 3:102-105, 2007

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