Online and Offline Data, Comparison of

The Emergence of Online Data

Until the late 1990s, data in communication research was almost exclusively collected offline. While scholars investigated communication through multiple forms of digital and analog media, the distinction between offline and online really began with the widespread use of the Internet. Before that, data in communication research took on many different forms depending on the questions that investigators were asking. These data could be considered in four different categories.

First, researchers investigate data in the form of texts. Perhaps most traditionally, early communication scholars investigated the texts of public speeches, using forms of rhetorical analysis to provide insight into the content and contexts of those texts. An analysis of presidential rhetoric, for instance, might use texts from the speeches of several different presidents throughout history in order to uncover common and changing political themes in the ways that presidents address the nation. However, texts may also take other forms. Researchers could look at employee records, diaries, films, maps, newspaper articles, photographs, or other forms of documentation.

Second, researchers investigate direct observations of communication behaviors and collect data in the form of audio or visual recordings or notes about their observations of communication in the field or in a laboratory setting. In some cases, investigators might be interested in recording real-time talk in action, such as conversations in a classroom, to observe patterns in communication or recurring themes. In other cases, investigators might be interested in more physiological information and observe individuals specifically for different facial expressions, or physical signs of stress in a public speaking situation. John Gottman focused his program of research on interactions between married couples and other long-term romantic relationships. He brought couples into his laboratory and asked them to have discussions about difficult topics, during which he would measure their heart rates, blood pressure, and rate of perspiration while they interacted with each other. He also trained a group of people to code for different facial expressions during the interaction. Because he collected a great deal of data during these direct observations of communication, he was able to propose an ideal ratio of positive to negative communication in a romantic relationship—predicting whether a couple would stay together or split up; specifically, for every five positive messages, ideal couples also communicate one negative message, according to Gottman.

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