Interactivity: A review of the concept and a framework for analysis

Quiring, Oliver; Schweiger, Wolfgang (2008): Interactivity: A review of the concept and a framework for analysis. In: Communications - European Journal of Communication Research, Vol. 33, No. 2: pp. 147-167

Abstract

The terms `interactivity' and `interactive media' became significant buzz-words during the late 1980s and early 1990s when the multi-media euphoria fascinated politicians, economists, and researchers alike. However, right from the beginning of the scientific debate, the inconsistent usage of the term `interactivity' massively complicated the comparability of numerous empirical studies. This is where this article joins the discussion. First, the article sheds light on the terminological origins of `interactivity' and distinguishes the term from cognate expressions. Further, it restructures and extends existing findings on the basis of a new analysis framework which considers three levels of interactive communication (action level, level of subjective situation evaluation, and level of meaning exchange). Finally, it delivers a systematic overview of specific criteria of interactive communication.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Form of publication: Publisher's Version
• Faculties: Social Sciences > Communication
• Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 380 Commerce, communications and transportation
• ISSN: 0341-2059
• Alliance/National Licence: This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.
• Language: English