Citizens, Knowledge, and the Information Environment

Political knowledge influences a wide array of political behaviors, from the most elemental activities (e.g., information processing, opinion formation) to what some might consider the most fundamental (e.g., support for democratic values, participation). Yet, we know little about how people become informed. My research explores an important but understudied influence on knowledge: the information people are exposed to in the mass media. Using a series of surveys that are unique to the Roper Center, my collaborators and I examine political knowledge across dozens of topics over a period of nearly 25 years. These questions share an important characteristic: they query respondents about recent political developments. Knowing the correct answer to these “surveillance issues” depends almost exclusively on recent exposure to information in the media rather than learning that might have occurred years ago (e.g., in a high school civics class).

We estimate the nature of media influence by combining more than 50 Roper surveys with media content analysis data. Drawing upon a variety of approaches (e.g.,  within-subject comparisons, multi-level models), this research will provide new insight into the characteristics of media coverage—e.g., the number of stories, the use of expert sources, the prevalence of contextual coverage—that influence how people learn about politics. As such, it extends past studies, which have tended to focus on largely static, individual-level predictors of knowledge such as a person’s race, gender, or level of education.

For more information on Ms. Jerit's research, please contact the Roper Center.

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Further Reading:

Jerit, Jennifer, Jason Barabas, and Toby Bolsen. 2006. “Citizens, Knowledge, and the Information Environment.” American Journal of Political Science 50 (2): 266-282.

Jennifer Jerit, and Jason Barabas. 2006. “Bankrupt Rhetoric: Effects of Misleading Information on Knowledge about Social Security.” Public Opinion Quarterly 70 (3): 278-303.

Jennifer Jerit, and Jason Barabas. 2009. “Estimating the Causal Effects of Media Coverage on Policy-Specific Knowledge.” American Journal of Political Science 53 (1): 73-89.

Jennifer Jerit. 2009. “Understanding the Knowledge Gap: The Role of Experts and Journalists.” Journal of Politics 71 (2):  1-15.

New Projects using Roper Center Data:

Jennifer Jerit and Jason Barabas. 2008-2010, “Studying Media Effects with a New Approach and Improved Data" National Science Foundation, Political Science Program Grant (SES-0818583).

Jennifer Jerit.  2008. “Issue Publics, News Attention, and the Information Environment.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, August 30-September 2, 2007.

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