NDU Term Paper | Mass Communication Research by Naja Faysal

1. Critical Analysis
Presented to:
Dr. Khalid Fakih
Course:
Mass Communication Research
Presented by:
Naja Faysal (#2002-8058)
(NDU, spring 2005)

2. Article Title:
CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING
RESEARCH
An Assessment of the Literature Between 1990 and 2002
Author:
Shaoming Zou
Journal:
Journal of Advertising, vol. 34, no. 1 (Spring 2005), pp. 99-110.
2005 American Academy of Advertising - All rights reserved.
ISSN 0091-3367 / 2005 $9.50 + 0.00

3. Thesis Statement:
This article assesses the contributions of individual and institutional researchers
from 1990 to 2002, based on their publications in major advertising, marketing, and
international business journals, and the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI).
Problem Identification:
There have been no attempts to point out the contributions of individual and
institutional research in the field of international advertising research, nor has there been
any attempt to study the impact of various publications in this field. This article studies
this issue, projecting a clear view about what issues are researched recently, which outlets
are most appropriate for publishing international advertising research, who the major
contributors are, and which articles have had the best impact on the field in recent years.
Purpose of the study:
1. Investigating the primary issues of recent international advertising research and the
major outlets for international advertising research.
2. Assessing the productivity of individual researchers and institutions in international
advertising research between 1990 and 2002.
3. Assessing the impact of individual publications and individual researchers on the
international advertising literature based on citation analysis using the Social Science
Citation Index (SSCI).

4. Theoretical background and Methodology:
This case study is a common qualitative research technique that uses as many
data sources as possible to systematically investigate the individual researchers and
institutions’ contribution in the field of international advertising research. It is used to
explain certain contemporary phenomenon where its context is not clearly evident.
This case study is considered to be scientific since it uses systematic methods in
selecting samples, analyzing situations, interpreting data observed, testing hypothesis,
and making generalizations.
Observation is the key element and mostly used tool in this case study where the
researcher uses numbers scientifically collected to draw conclusions and generalizations.
Moreover, he uses the Social Science Citation index and many other indexes that make
the observation technique dominate over all other remaining techniques. Observation is
also clear since the data has been published in the media, and it is accessible to the mass
population where anyone can observe what has been collected.
Hypothesis:
1. There is an important contribution to international advertising research through
individual and institutional research that facilitate and change the literature of
international advertising research but the citation of this impact varies due to national
borders.
2. What is the degree of impact of individual articles and individual authors on the
international advertising literature based on the SSCI citation analysis?

5. Sampling:
The study uses a sample size of 122 articles taken from 11 academic journals
published between 1990 and 2002 and considered to be the top 11 academic journals.
Sample Selection:
The journals were selected based on:
A. Henthorne, LaTour, and Loraas (1998).
B. Dubois and Reeb’s (2000) using both citation analysis and an opinion survey to
rank 30 journals that focus on publishing international business research.
The articles were selected through a combination of electronic and manual searches:
ABI/INFORM database was used to identify a pool of articles that might be relevant to
international advertising.
Problems in research technique:
There are three major disadvantages of using case studies as a research technique:
1. Lack of scientific rigor, where the researcher is considered to be sloppy, and allow
equivocal evidence or biased views to influence the findings and conclusions.
2. Not being amenable to generalization. If the main goal of the researcher is to make
statistically based normative statements about the frequency of occurrence of a
phenomenon in a defined population, some other method may be more appropriate.
3. Time-consuming and may occasionally produce massive quantities of data that are
hard to summarize.

6. Strengths and weaknesses of the research:
Strong points:
1. The researcher over came the disadvantage of the research technique and came up
with a strict and objective scientific research
2. Accreditation of sources
3. Being the first to assess the contributions to international advertising research and
this makes the case study interesting to researchers and readers who can develop
other issues based on this case study
4. The sample is selected in a critical way where methods used in this selection are
systematic and professional
5. This case study enriches us with detailed information about the contributions to
international advertising research.
6. This case study provides us with clues and ideas for further research.
7. It gives us a clear view about the topic and explains data, procedures, and facts that
are usually hidden and not clear.
Weak points:
1. Sample size is relatively small where sampling error has higher percentages to occur
thus, we cannot generalize or come up with normative statements.
2. The case study produces a massive quantity of data that is hard to be summarized.
3. This case study doesn’t give opportunities for articles published in other academic
journals about international advertising research to be discussed and criticized.

7. 4. This case study did not include articles published before 1990
5. The reported citation counts in this study might slightly underestimate an article’s
total citations in the academic literature.
Personal evaluation and the overall work:
This study represents the first attempt to asses the contributions to international
advertising research by individual contributors and institutional contributors in the period
from 1990 to 2002. It also assesses the impact of individual articles and individual
authors on the international advertising literature based on the SSCI citation analysis. My
personal evaluation after analyzing this case study is that it is quite interesting and
important to have such case studies that point out attention on researchers (individual and
institutional) that are trying to create new trends in the international advertising field
where national and cultural boundaries will be eliminated. This also very critical
especially in this age where the globalization is occurring and studies concerning
international issues have to take more attention and care in order to find a place for
ourselves in the new planet.