ISTPP Research Scientist Xinsheng Liu and Director Arnold Vedlitz, along with Institute Senior Research Fellow Scott Robinson, have published their article, “Public Problem Characterization, Policy Solution Generation, and Intra-Agenda Connectivity,” in Policy Studies Journal.
Drawing on policy agenda theories, the authors develop a typology to theorize the relationships between problem characterization and policy solution in the news media. They further employ content analysis and statistical modeling to demonstrate that the likelihood of policy proposal in the news media is significantly influenced by how the news media define and frame a public issue along four issue attribute dimensions: issue image, issue scope, issue linkage, and narrative style. This research highlights the intrinsic problem definition-policy alternative connection and contributes to both policy process and political communication theories of agenda setting research.
Xinsheng Liu, Scott Robinson and Arnold Vedlitz. 2016. “Public Problem Characterization, Policy Solution Generation, and Intra-Agenda Connectivity,” Policy Studies Journal. DOI: 10.1111/psj.12163
