Bridging the Disciplinary Divide

Academic disciplines see research questions through the biases created by their presuppositions and preferred methods. Political science and communication are no different. In the past, political scientists more often focused on outcomes and the social and economic judgments that seemed to shape them while communication researchers have focused more intensely on the structure and content of the messages that make up campaigns. To understand the role of communication campaigns on political outcomes (and vice versa) requires information on both message content and effects