Framing Scientific Evidence – A Qualitative Analysis of Micro-Frames in Comments on Climate Change
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, yet scientific evidence on the topic is often contested in public discourse. Online platforms like YouTube have become key spaces where climate-related discussions unfold, allowing a diverse range of actors to shape narratives. This project examines how scientific evidence is framed in user comments on YouTube videos about climate change. It explores the ways in which users construct, support, or challenge scientific claims and what linguistic and visual elements they use to do so.
Using qualitative content analysis, the study identifies patterns in how scientific evidence is framed in online discussions. The project introduces the concept of “micro-frames” to analyze short text forms like user comments, which often contain only fragments of larger argumentative structures. The study follows an inductive approach, allowing frames to emerge from the data rather than being predefined.
The expected outcome includes a scholarly publication and the development of a framework for detecting micro-frames in online discussions. The findings will contribute to climate communication research and provide insights for science communication practitioners by revealing common argumentative patterns. In the long term, the study lays the groundwork for automated frame detection in online discussions and a research grant proposal on framing evidences.
Main Research Topics
- User-generated Content
- Trust
- Disinformation
- Populism
- Science Communication
Curriculum Vitae
- 2019-2022 and 2023-today Assistant Professor (Akademischer Rat) in the field of “Forms and Processes of Public Communication” (Prof. Dr. Metag, University of Münster)
- 2022-2023 Interim Professor for “Digitalization and the Public Sphere”
- 2018-2019 Postdoctoral researcher in the BMBF project “PropStop: Detection, Proof, and Combatting of Covert Propaganda Terms in Online Media” (Prof. Thorsten Quandt, University of Münster)
- 2017 Lecturer at the Karlshochschule Karlsruhe
- 2014-2017 Research Assistant and Doctoral Candidate in the Interdisciplinary DFG Research Training Group “Trust and Communication in a Digitalized World” (Prof. Blöbaum, University of Münster)
Publications and Presentations
- Grosser, K. M., Hase, V., & Wintterlin, F. (2019). Trustworthy or shady? Exploring the influence of verifying and visualizing UGC on online journalism’s trustworthiness. Journalism Studies, 20(4), 500–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1392255
- Metag, J., Wintterlin, F., & Klinger, K. (2023). Science Communication in the Digital Age: New Actors, Environments, and Practices. Media and Communnication, 11(1), 212-21. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i1.6905
- Schatto-Eckrodt, T., Boberg, S., Wintterlin, F., & Quandt, T. (2020). Use and assessment of sources in conspiracy theorists’ communities. In C. Grimme, M. Preuß, F. Takes, & A. Waldherr (Eds.), Disinformation in open online media (pp. 25–32). Wiesbaden: Springer In-ternational Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39627-5_3
- Wintterlin, F., Schatto-Eckrodt, T., Frischlich, L., Boberg, S., Reer, F., & Quandt, T. (2023). “It’s us against them up there”: Spreading distorted information online as populist collective action. Computers in Human Behavior, 146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107784
- Wintterlin, F., Engelke, K. M., & Hase, V. (2020). Can transparency preserve journalism’s trustworthiness? Recipients’ views on transparency about source origin and verification regarding user-generated content in the news. Studies in Communication and Media, 9(2), 218–240. https://doi.org/10.5771/2192-4007-2020-2-218
