A content analysis of research on China in top-ranked communication journals from 1995 to 2014: a comparison with other Asian countries

Abstract

Scholars have recently turned their attention to China with its rapidly growing economic power. This present study analyzes and compares communication research on China in 14 top-ranked journals over the past 20 years. Our analysis reveals patterns, trends, and gaps in communication research on China during this period. The results indicate that China has received more scholarly attention with publication numbers increasing from 4 articles in 1995 to 13 articles in 2014. China is the most-researched East Asian country. Its research article numbers are twice that of the second-most-researched country, South Korea. China’s political system was the most-used rationale in the research articles. More China-focused studies used a critical/interpretative approach and fewer used mixed approaches compared to research on other Asian countries. As a first-of-its-kind study, our findings offer needed guidance for future research on Chinese communication.