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A hyperlink and issue network analysis of the United States Senate: A rediscovery of the Web as a relational and topical medium

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  • Jang Hyun Kim
  • George A. Barnett
  • Han Woo Park

Abstract

Politicians' Web sites have been considered a medium for organizing, mobilizing, and agenda‐setting, but extant literature lacks a systematic approach to interpret the Web sites of senators—a new medium for political communication. This study classifies the role of political Web sites into relational (hyperlinking) and topical (shared‐issues) aspects. The two aspects may be viewed from a social embeddedness perspective and three facets, as K. Foot and S. Schneider (2002) suggested. This study employed network analysis, a set of research procedures for identifying structures in social systems, as the basis of the relations among the system's components rather than the attributes of individuals. Hyperlink and issue data were gathered from the United States Senate Web site and Yahoo. Major findings include: (a) The hyperlinks are more targeted at Democratic senators than at Republicans and are a means of communication for senators and users; (b) the issue network found from the Web is used for discussing public agendas and is more highly utilized by Republican senators; (c) the hyperlink and issue networks are correlated; and (d) social relationships and issue ecologies can be effectively detected by these two networks. The need for further research is addressed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jang Hyun Kim & George A. Barnett & Han Woo Park, 2010. "A hyperlink and issue network analysis of the United States Senate: A rediscovery of the Web as a relational and topical medium," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(8), pages 1598-1611, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:61:y:2010:i:8:p:1598-1611
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.21357
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    Cited by:

    1. Ho Yoon & Han Park, 2014. "Strategies affecting Twitter-based networking pattern of South Korean politicians: social network analysis and exponential random graph model," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 409-423, January.
    2. Manuela Hartwig & Yohei Kobashi & Sae Okura & Leslie Tkach-Kawasaki, 2015. "Energy policy participation through networks transcending cleavage: an analysis of Japanese and German renewable energy promotion policies," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 1485-1512, July.
    3. Frank Bakker & Iina Hellsten, 2013. "Capturing Online Presence: Hyperlinks and Semantic Networks in Activist Group Websites on Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(4), pages 807-823, December.
    4. Liwen Vaughan, 2016. "Uncovering information from social media hyperlinks: An investigation of twitter," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 67(5), pages 1105-1120, May.
    5. Liwen Vaughan & Esteban Romero-Frías, 2012. "Exploring Web keyword analysis as an alternative to link analysis: a multi-industry case," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 93(1), pages 217-232, October.

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