Online discussion and the 2014 Scottish independence referendum : flaming keyboards or forums of deliberation?
Quinlan, Stephen and Shephard, Mark and Paterson, Lindsay (2015) Online discussion and the 2014 Scottish independence referendum : flaming keyboards or forums of deliberation? Electoral Studies, 38. 192–205. ISSN 0261-3794
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Abstract
Referendums often fail to live up to a deliberative standard, with many characterised by low levels of knowledge, disinterest and misinformation, negativity, and a focus on extraneous issues to which voters are voting. But social media offers new avenues for referendums to incorporate a greater deliberative dimension. Through a content analysis of BBC discussion forums, we test whether online discussion of the Scottish independence referendum has deliberative characteristics. Results suggest a mixed picture with conversation displaying some deliberative features (low incidences of flaming/discussion of referendum issues). However, low levels of discussion intensity, dominance by a few, little knowledge exchange, and high gender inequality illustrate that online referendum discussion lacks deliberative characteristics, implying that social media are not a panacea for referendum deliberation.
Creators(s): |
Quinlan, Stephen, Shephard, Mark ![]() | Item type: | Article |
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ID code: | 53098 |
Keywords: | referendums, deliberation, discussion forums, Scottish independence, online content analysis, Scotland, Political theory, Political Science and International Relations |
Subjects: | Political Science > Political institutions (Europe) > Scotland Political Science > Political theory |
Department: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > School of Government and Public Policy > Politics |
Depositing user: | Pure Administrator |
Date deposited: | 27 May 2015 12:52 |
Last modified: | 01 Jan 2021 05:23 |
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URI: | https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/53098 |
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