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Our intention was to use the survey to obtain more information regarding the influential factors contributing to student political beliefs, and the extent the media and the campus community contribute to these viewpoints. Therefore, the survey began by guiding participants through a series of questions, using measurements such as the Likert scale and open ended responses, in order to help identify how and where participants obtain political information.

The survey began with general questions regarding media usage and progressed into questions designed to discover each participant’s political views and influences. The next series of questions looked at student political involvement and their methods for researching and/or receiving political information. The survey concluded with standard demographic questions to produce psychographic information to be applied in our data analysis.

We used Qualtrics to administer the survey to out 18 participants, which was the result of convenience sampling. Upon collection of responses, several questions were recoded to ensure the scale of directionality was consistent for all questions.

The main purpose of our focus group was to ascertain the primary influences on student political beliefs, and the extent to which the campus community and the media contribute to their viewpoints. To accomplish this, we guided the conversation in a progressive manner that allowed participants to identify how and where they obtain political information. Of particular importance was the underlying sources of this information (e.g. family, peers, teachers, or media).  

 Our group analyzed nonverbal and verbal communication, as observed during the focus group, in order to determine themes and define categories. These findings demonstrated the participants’ level of political activity, which we have defined as very involved (fully partaking in both national and local political activity, belonging to politically based clubs), somewhat involved (voting, following elections), and uninvolved (participant does not partake in any political activity).

We also coded for the origin of students’ political beliefs. The information gathered from the focus group proved that origin of political beliefs can be categorized into five groups, including, family (blood relation), friends (a familiar companion), peers (acquaintances, classmates, students on campus), teachers (professors and teaching assistants), media (both social and traditional media). Evidentially, the focus group served as the basis for constructing our qualitative study.

In general, the context of answers given by participants guided the overall coding and data analysis. In addition, non-verbal indicators significantly influenced the choices we made. Herein, we attempted to determine which responses were truthful and which responses were based on the participants’ attempts to appear more politically informed or correct.

The topic of our research study investigated student political beliefs in the Digital Age. Due to the media’s ability to powerfully convey a message to a large audience, media platforms are now commonly used to deliver political information to the public. Although our literature demonstrates political beliefs originate from the home, we believe the home is not the only source of political information, however, some of our literature does acknowledge the media as an extrinsic factor. Comparably, the information obtained from our focus group reaffirms the home as a source of political information. This aided in the structuring of our survey design and data analysis because we were interested in investigating whether the “home” is a contributing factor, as well as other environmental factors that contribute to the cultivation of a student’s political beliefs.

To our surprise, many of our test demonstrated statistical significance. For instance, we tested the relationship between how often participants engaged in political conversations with their friends and whether or not they are inclined to investigate political issues, and our results exemplified a moderate, positive correlation, thus signifying that p<0.05. Similarly, when we analyzed the relationship between fellow members of the OSU community and whether or not they are inclined to investigate political issues before choosing their stance, our results displayed a large, positive correlation. Positive correlations were also apparent when examining the relationship between the variables: state elections, local elections, and political rallies, in comparison to strength of the participant’s political party affiliation. 

However, we did have a small sample size that was obtained by a convenience sampling method, therefore, perhaps a relationship exists for the variables that demonstrated no significant correlation (p>0.05). Additionally, these results obtained from the study can be used as the basis for further research studies to be conducted. Also, the information obtained can be used to identify relevant characteristics and values of college student demographics.

Originally, our group conducted a focus group to analyze the verbal and non-verbal responses of our participants. The information obtained was then analyzed, categorized, and coded to aid in the creation of our online survey through Qualtrics. Our survey contained 28 questions that aimed to identify the contributing factors of student political beliefs and the methods used to obtain political information. Our questions embodied a mixture of both descriptive and analytical survey questions that resulted in responses from 18 participants enrolled in COMM 3163 summer course. Most of our questions used a Likert scale to measure different responses by participants, however, other other forms of measurement were used in order to adequately assess the participant’s response.

The information obtained from the survey was uploaded to SPSS Statistics in order to conduct further analysis of our data. Next, questions were recoded to ensure the scaled directionality was consistent for all questions, which lessened the probability of data errors in our correlational and relational tests.

Interested in the outcome of our data analysis? Take a look at our results!

The purpose of our research study was to examine the influential factors contributing to student political beliefs and what media or campus sources augment these principles. Essentially, it is apparent that many college students are actively engaged with politics, therefore, we were curious to identify and establish the factors that are contributing to the increase of political involvement amongst students, and whether the media plays a vital role.

Samantha Meyerson

• Senior, majoring in Strategic Communication at The Ohio State University-Main Campus
• Intends to move back to New York and pursue a career in Public Relations, but is still keeping her options open
• Conducted data analysis and helped with the creation of the content and data analysis paper
• Contact me: meyerson.13@osu.edu

Anna Roberts

• Senior, majoring in Strategic Communication and Political Science at The Ohio State University-Main Campus
• Intends to remain in Columbus and pursue a career in Public Relations for either the state or local government
• Conducted data analysis and helped with the creation of the content and data analysis paper
• Contact me: roberts.1622@osu.edu

Mark Capehart

• Senior, majoring in Strategic Communication at The Ohio State University- Main Campus
• Intends to pursue a career in Political Communication
• Contact me: capehart.2@osu.edu

Jessica Shirley 

• Senior, majoring in Strategic Communication at The Ohio State University- Main Campus
• Intends to move to Tampa, Florida and pursue a career in Sales
• Contact me: shirley.67@osu.edu

Welcome to the Digital Age! As technology increases its presence in our everyday lives, our exposure to the media strengthens. Consequently, the media’s strength is so powerful, it may be influencing your attitudes and beliefs and you don’t even know it. Think about your political views and how they have evolved through the years, as well as the political information that floods your social media accounts. Curious, to see if the media is capable of influencing your political beliefs? Or perhaps, the underlying factors contributing to the cultivation of your political beliefs? Feel free to explore our site to learn more!

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