Analysis of university online reputation-visibility. The case of Spanish public universities

Faraoni, Nina; Luque-Martínez, Teodoro; Doña-Toledo, Luis

doi:10.1080/08841241.2024.2301777

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 83 publications

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“…They note that while similar effects have been documented for businesses, less attention is paid to the impact of publicity on higher education institutions. Faraoni et al (2024) build on the previous study by exploring the reputation of Spanish public universities and recommend ways institutions can leverage mediatization effects using various kinds of media for brand-building. While the current study does not specifically explore media effects on its audience per se, the aforementioned articles prove relevant due to their focus on negative publicity, which aligns with the data presented here.…”

Section: Mediatization Of Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Political Actors in the Czech Media Discourse on Ph.D. – A Content Analysis

Poliaková

2024

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the media portrayal of Ph.D. programs in the Czech Republic. Specifically, it explores how doctoral study programs, their students, and the Ph.D. degree are represented across various topics and social actors over an 18-month period. Background: The societal perception of Ph.D. studies, especially at the postgraduate level, is significantly shaped by media representations, including their connections to science, academia, and broader social life. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the portrayal of the Ph.D. phenomenon in the media. The Czech Republic provides a relevant use case because of Central Eastern European (CEE) settings and amplified media coverage. The main factors are several political and social influences and governmental discussions regarding the legality of and against precarious conditions. Methodology: This study utilizes a qualitative method of conventional and directed content analysis to thematically categorize a corpus of 456 articles on Czech news platforms. A subset of these articles (thematic cluster about study conditions) undergoes further analysis to identify represented social actors. The results are clustered and interpreted using examples from the dataset. The instances of studied phenomena are quantified to provide an enumerated representation of individual themes and social actors. Contribution: The author contributes to research on doctoral studies by expanding the existing knowledge through media content analysis within the social constructivist paradigm. Moreover, the CEE region, often overlooked in doctoral studies and science communication research, is highlighted here. Finally, this article enriches the understanding of public relations strategies for higher-education institutions by focusing on earned media channels as opposed to solely owned ones. Findings: The analysis leads to the determination of 10 thematic clusters that can be succinctly categorized into four main areas: “Ph.D. Title,” “University Life,” “Study Conditions,” and “Controversial Issues.” The latter two categories are notably politicized, a fact underscored by the actor analysis, which shows a predominance of political figures in the media coverage. An unexpected result of the research is the significant underrepresentation of student voices in the analyzed sample of media outputs, except for those doctoral students who also hold positions such as student initiative chairs. Additionally, comparing the results to previous research on doctoral studies, it can be argued that many of the critical topics discussed by the research community, such as mental health issues or diversity of the student cohort, are not equally represented in media portrayals. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners, especially communication professionals from higher education institutions and research centers, can leverage these insights to refine their communication strategy. This can help counterbalance prevailing media narratives and provide a more representative portrayal of study programs, focusing on areas currently underrepresented in media discourse. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers from other regions are encouraged to conduct similar studies using the presented framework to map the representation of Ph.D. in respective media outlets. It is advisable to consider the local context in the interpretative phase of the content analysis, as demonstrated in this study. Impact on Society: The findings elucidate the role of the Ph.D. within the national media landscape of higher education, potentially influencing policymakers, journalists, and science communication professionals to reconsider their approaches to media discourse. Lastly, as hinted above, science communication professionals can benefit from the results in terms of future development of media outreach strategy with a focus on targeted topics. Future Research: The presented work would benefit from a broader, multinational comparison and also a complementary audience analysis to understand how Ph.D. students and possible applicants interpret these messages and whether they correlate with their attitudes.

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Section: Mediatization Of Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Political Actors in the Czech Media Discourse on Ph.D. – A Content Analysis

Poliaková

2024

IJDS

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Online reputation assessment in innovative wine companies

Mozas-Moral,

Bernal-Jurado,

Puentes-Poyatos

2024

Journal of Innovation & Knowledge

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Image of Higher Education Institutions: Main Components and Determinants

Solodovnikov,

Bondarenko,

Zhytar

2024

MMI

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In the modern world, a significant role in the development of the innovative economy of the state is played by the training of highly qualified specialists who can produce new innovations and knowledge and build an efficient growing economy, manifested in the growth of the country’s GDP. The training of such specialists is the responsibility of higher education institutions, which in today’s, mainly Ukrainian, realities are struggling for applicants, which manifests itself in the formation of stakeholders’ perceptions of the university, i.e., the formation of its own image. The image of a higher education institution becomes an intangible resource on par with industrial and intellectual property. Today, higher education institutions are moving away from just teaching students and are becoming research centers in Ukraine and the world, working in the format of teaching, research, and commercialization. The reputation and perception of a higher education institution (HEI) by its stakeholders directly depend on its ability to operate effectively and serve as a link between highly qualified specialists and businesses. This creates competition between universities in shaping their own image. Along with traditional determinants, including rankings, it is now necessary to consider new factors that reflect the digital level of representation and communication of higher education institutions in the internet space. For this study, we selected higher education institutions (HEIs) with the highest positions in the Times Higher Education rankings in Ukraine and the countries of the Visegrad Group. These countries were chosen because of their geographical proximity to Ukraine, shared history and borders, and because they were among the last to become members of the European Union, which Ukraine aspires to join. This approach allows for an objective assessment of the image of Ukrainian higher education institutions in the context of Ukraine’s European integration aspirations. The methodological toolkit of the study was the entropy method of analysing the performance of the selected HEIs according to the Times Higher Education ranking and key indicators of the dynamics and visibility of their websites. The results obtained for the specific weights of the image subindicesindicate a 43% influence of presence on the internet. This study empirically confirms and theoretically proves that digital presence and visibility on the internet are significant factors in forming the image of higher education institutions. This indicates the need to strengthen the digital communications and representation of Ukrainian higher education institutions to improve their image. The research results can be helpful for educational institutions, politicians, and communication specialists who seek to enhance the image of their higher education institutions. The obtained results can be used to develop strategies for improving internet presence and communication practices, which will contribute to a general increase in the rating and prestige of higher education institutions.

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Analysis of university online reputation-visibility. The case of Spanish public universities

Cited by 3 publications

References 83 publications

Social and Political Actors in the Czech Media Discourse on Ph.D. – A Content Analysis

Social and Political Actors in the Czech Media Discourse on Ph.D. – A Content Analysis

Online reputation assessment in innovative wine companies

Image of Higher Education Institutions: Main Components and Determinants

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