The State and Evolution of Communication
Research: A Topic Modeling Analysis of 20,000
Journal Article Abstracts from 1918–2015
Authors: Stephen A. Rains, David M. Keating, John A. Banas, Adam S. Richards, and
Nicholas A. Palomares (2020)
Article Overview
● Purpose: To examine how the field of communication research has developed and
changed over nearly 100 years.
● Data Used: More than 20,000 journal article abstracts published between 1918 and
2015.
● Method: The researchers used topic modeling (Latent Dirichlet Allocation or LDA), a
machine learning technique that identifies recurring themes across large collections
of text.
Important Concepts
● Pedagogy
○ Meaning: Pedagogy is the theory and practice of teaching. It involves the
methods, strategies, and approaches educators use to help students learn
effectively.
○ In the article: Early communication research focused heavily on speech
pedagogy, which emphasized teaching students how to speak effectively,
communicate clearly, and develop strong public speaking skills.
● Rhetoric
○ Meaning: Rhetoric is the art and study of persuasive communication. It
focuses on how language, speech, and other forms of communication can be
used to inform, persuade, or influence an audience.
○ In the article: Rhetoric was one of the earliest foundations of communication
research. Scholars studied persuasive speaking, debate, argumentation, and
effective public discourse before the field expanded into broader
communication contexts.
1
Major Findings
1. Communication research has grown tremendously.
The discipline expanded significantly in both the number of publications and the
diversity of research topics.
Over time, communication became more interdisciplinary, drawing from
psychology, sociology, political science, technology, health, and other fields.
2. The field is highly diverse.
The study identified numerous recurring research areas, including:
● Interpersonal communication
● Media effects
● Political communication
● Health communication
● Journalism
● Organizational communication
● Communication technology
● Social media
● Persuasion
● Public relations
● Rhetoric and language
● Family communication
3. Research interests have changed over time.
Early communication research focused mainly on:
● Speech education
● Speech pedagogy (teaching communication and public speaking)
● Public speaking
● Rhetoric (persuasive communication)
As society and technology evolved, research expanded to include:
● Mass media
● Television
● Internet communication
● Computer-mediated communication
● Social media
● Digital technologies
2
4. Technology transformed communication research.
The rise of the internet and digital platforms encouraged studies on online
interaction, social networking, virtual communities, and digital media.
Communication research evolved alongside technological developments.
5. Health communication became increasingly important.
Researchers explored doctor-patient communication, health campaigns, risk
communication, and public health messaging.
This reflects communication's growing role in improving health outcomes.
6. Political communication continued to expand.
Research increasingly examined:
● Political campaigns
● News media
● Public opinion
● Elections
● Media influence on political behavior
7. Communication research became more data-driven.
Researchers adopted advanced quantitative methods and computational
approaches, including machine learning and text analysis.
Large datasets became more common in communication studies.
Significance of the Study
● It provides one of the most comprehensive overviews of the evolution of
communication research over nearly a century.
● It demonstrates that communication is a dynamic and interdisciplinary discipline
that adapts to social, cultural, political, and technological changes.
● The findings help researchers understand historical trends while identifying
emerging areas for future communication research.
3
Main Conclusion
The study concludes that communication research has evolved from a discipline
primarily centered on speech education, speech pedagogy, public speaking, and
rhetoric into a broad, interdisciplinary field that examines communication across
interpersonal, organizational, media, political, health, and digital contexts. As
technology and society continue to change, communication research continues to
expand and adapt to new forms of human interaction.