Article Analysis

This article provides a critical analysis of a research study on mobile news consumption, examining the research questions, argument techniques, research design, and suggestions for improvement.

Running head: ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Article Analysis
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ARTICLE ANALYSIS 2
1.0 Introduction
The analysis of articles requires the use of critical thinking skills. A number of skills
thought in class are very essential and each depends on the author’s approach. I am going to
analyze document 2- by Van Damme, Courtois, Verbrugge, & De Marez, (2015) which is
mixed-method research on mobile news consumption. The structure begin with elucidating
on the research questions addressed in the article, examines the attributes that make the
article fir for publication is a selected journal, identify and explain the argument technique
employed to arrive at the author’s conclusion, evaluate the type of research design utilized,
strengths, and limitations, suitability of the study and give suggestions for improvement
2.0 The research questions addressed in the study
The problem created by mobile devices, compelled the researcher to come up with
research questions which are divided into two: the first research question observes how
mobile media is fitting in a wider news media selections through development of a number of
selections of mobile owners and the research question examine why is mobile news being
used, taking into consideration the news media selections. There is no main question since the
the researcher only wants to understand how and why this growing section of the market is
occupying numerous places as well as social spaces in daily life in relation to common news
media that has been in use for over a long period of times prior to introduction of the mobile
phones (Van Damme et al., 2015).
The approach of reviewing literature follows Cannon criteria with an emphasis on
showing the importance of research questions in the study. The literature integrative in
nature. The author shows clear and precise selection as well as a good analysis of literature.
Presently, the use of mobile for media intake has infused individuals’ news usage selections.
The merging idea of mobiles phones and main role as a device to be used everywhere
potentially explains the impact. This creates an environment where users form a set of habits

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that are related to the software and programs installed such as the media news where a user is
given a variety of selection from the many to utilize. This, therefore, creates a problem since
consumers of news will deviate from using the traditional ordinary media sources available
and as a result becomes a problem (Van Damme et al., 2015).
3.0 The attributes that make the study suitable for publication in the chosen journal
The research falls in the category of inductive argument hence for the purpose of
evaluating whether it is suitable for publication, the following gets examined are
acceptability, relevance, and sufficiency (Prof Horwitz, 2019).
The first attribute is acceptance. The investigation is acceptable because the premise
given by the researcher is true. In the present world, mobile phones have infiltrated every
form and aspects of human lives almost causing detrimental effects to human lives.
Therefore, the researcher is right by stating that there are problems with the widespread usage
of mobiles phones in the consumption of media as opposed to the use of traditional media
(Prof Horwitz, 2019).
The second attribute is relevance. The research is relevant because the premise
provided by the researcher is related to what is happening in the present society in relation to
the widespread use of mobile phones (Lecture notes, 2019).
The third attribute is sufficiency. The research is sufficient and hence suitable for
publication due to the fact that the premises given are compelling and justify the conclusion.
The research is a good argument and uses the argumentative approach (Prof Horwitz, 2019).
This is because from the research one can establish that the inference is worthy to be
accepted-there is the gathering of particular observations with the use of premises, then give
reasons and a general conclusion is provided in the end. In the research, the researcher uses a
form of reasoning where one can easily make premises statement as well as get the reason(s)
why there is a support to a particular claim. In this respect, the researcher wants to know why

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there is wide use of mobile in the new sector over the use of the old mediums of information-
the conclusion follows from the premises (Van Damme et al., 2015).
4.0 The Main Argument Techniques to Reach the Author’s Conclusion
The main argument employed in the study is the fallacious technique because there
are reasons provided in the article for accepting the claim. Nonetheless, there is also the use
of rhetorical ploys. To begin with and in particular, the informal fallacious argument is
utilized. In the study (Prof Horwitz, 2019), the researcher through the examination of the
literature argues that the use of mobile phones has penetrated the customers of news to a great
extent and this has made the consumption of news from other carriers like the newspaper and
new stations to be affected. In addition, there is a lot of competition by news media for the
audiences as espoused by the niche theory (Dick, 2016).
In the application of theory to support the argument, the researcher uses rhetorical
ploy. This is where there is the use of equivocation by making the most out of what is known
in theory (Prof Horwitz, 2019), for instance, the theory postulates that every media must have
unique opportunities that are satisfying the customer for the niche to be maintained. This,
therefore, poses a challenge to the media in that when they need to still survive in the market,
they have to re-look at their strategies. The researcher pointed out those researches done on
niche indicates that media uses cannibalization for survival and might as well be the case for
the mobile media. However, on the other hand, it is stated that a mobile device is a tool used
to complement and extend other activities (Heidari, & Ebrahimi, 2016). Additionally, in
using Reuter’s opinions as stated shows uses rhetorical ploy. For example, the research by
Reuters Institute supports it by saying that the emergence of mobile phones and particularly
the smartphones and tablets in newsrooms has come not as an expense but as an added option
to increase and provide a range of options to be selected from (Van Damme et al., 2015).
Therefore, it calls for investigation of patterns of multiple media use and investigation of

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different amount of news utilization instead of looking at the choices separately using a
repertoire-based approach with the assumption that the users are naturally cross-media.
Additionally, there is an increasing trend in the use of multiple devices leaving the question
on how the different media have a relationship with one another in a wider spectrum of users’
media selections (Jackson, 2015).
Further, fallacies continue to be employed when the researcher thought it essential to
investigate how the news usage practices permeate the strongly set media sphere (Lecture
notes, 2019). The argument that the researcher put forth is that when the qualities put forth
by the mobile are stronger as compared to the traditional media. In the past, the traditional
media was consumed by the family as a whole and newspapers were read on a wider
perspective-hence consumed in a social and stable arrangement. The time of each in the past
was categorical where newspapers were delivered at dawn and news was observed in the
dusk (Van Damme, Courtois, Verbrugge, & De Marez, 2015). The degree of freedom and
saturation prevailing currently results in what is termed as unravelling of product and
situation (Cottrell, 2017).
On the other hand, the author put forth the media’s idea of “triple articulation”. It is
informal fallacies and it appeals to ignorance where there is the use of the opponent’s ability
to disapprove conclusion as a proof of correctness (Lecture notes, 2019). This is in view of
the fact that the embedded and multifaceted factors interplaying in the consumption of media
such as the triadic uses of the texts, technologies, as well as the socio-spatial context where
they are rooted play a role (Van Damme et al., 2015). When the framework gets applied to
the consumption of the news, present a better way of understanding the different news media
ranges in focusing on daily practices. Additionally, it is stipulated that the media
consumption has a relationship with multidimensional concepts such as spatial, social,
cultural and technological features. Emphasis by other researchers states that the essence of

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mobile news consumption gets done in a specific place (Van Damme et al., 2015). Therefore,
there is a lot of freedom of roaming and it is amplified by locative media where contextual
information gets cultivated for a specific location for improving the experiences of the mobile
media. The mobility creates a disconnection since there is a timeless time, nowhere-place and
when-times (Torff, 2019).
Appeal to ignorance continues (Lecture notes, 2019) where the author states that the
mobile media has come to fill the gap experienced in the traditional media and hence there is
consumption in every time as opposed to traditional media where consumption happens after
a length of time and at set time (Van Damme et al., 2015). Thus emphasizing the fact that the
media get utilized in transit and is never connected with the set context of media consumption
(Dick, 2016). This forms the way for the emergence of fragmented consumption patterns of
the media and hence supports that mobile media continues to satisfy the needs of the
audiences. This is amalgamated by the introduction and increased prevalence of notifications
and updates such as breaking uses send to the user via mobile. This poses a challenge and a
threat to the traditional media developers of being displaced as people are now getting
accustomed to the use of mobile for news anywhere and at any time (Kasemsap, 2017).
5.0 Evaluating the type of research design used strength, limitations, and suitability.
The research is twofold; there is the aim of examining how the mobile media can fit
the wider media selection and hence the study endeavors to develop investigation on news
media varieties. The second aim is to get an understanding of why mobile media is employed
within the wide media varieties (Lecture notes, 2019). This is in the understanding of the fact
that mobile media have inherent qualities of allowing one to engage in news everywhere and
so an understanding of how and why mobile media used for media consumption in daily life
relates to media consumption and particularly the news (Dick, 2016).

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The research design adopted is a survey. The reason for selecting the survey for the
study is owing to its strengths. The survey allows for high representation of the selected study
population and thus data obtained through the tool give better descriptions of the population’s
relative attributes (Prof Horwitz, 2019). Also, there is data gathering since it can be
administered with the use of many ways such as an online survey. It provides good statistical
significance attributed to the high representative sample employed. As a result of the
standardized stimulus, the survey does not have observer subjectivity hence high reliability as
there are no researcher’s biases involved and therefore precise results obtained.
The limitation of the survey is that it is not best suited when investigating
controversial issues since responses from the respondents might not be obtained.
Additionally, due to standardization, the researcher is compelled to design questions that are
general enough so that the target population gets accommodated (L'Etang, McKie, Snow, &
Xifra, 2015).
The research approach employed was qualitative in which through this a strong
argument that gave probable support to the conclusion was reached (Prof Horwitz, 2019).
The sample population was well outlined and analysis of a large-scale questionnaire (N =
1279) accomplished, showing three kinds of new customers and a mixed-method study was
set up as a pilot study with which it combines objective data from mobile device logs through
personal diaries and undertaking face-to-face interviews (N=30). The reason for using both
qualitative and mixed-method is in order to support the first approach and make the research
valid and hence acceptable for publication (Van Damme et al., 2015).
6.0 Suggestions for Improvement
My suggestion is to employ deductive argumentation and adopt a case study but in
this case, the quantitative approach employed with a post-positivist philosophical view. The
case study design is preferred because there is room to carry out research as it develops and

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for a set period of time. Additionally, the researcher gets to examine in-depth literature and
through this allows the researcher to go deep and employ different sources of data so as to get
an overall picture of the two research questions.

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References
Cottrell, S. (2017). Critical thinking skills: Effective analysis, argument and reflection.
Macmillan International Higher Education.
Dick, D. (2016). How critical reading and thinking can enhance your writing.
Heidari, M., & Ebrahimi, P. (2016). Examining the relationship between critical-thinking
skills and decision-making ability of emergency medicine students. Indian journal of
critical care medicine: peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of
Critical Care Medicine, 20(10), 581.
Jackson, S. L. (2015). Research methods and statistics: A critical thinking approach.
Cengage Learning.
Kasemsap, K. (2017). Promoting critical thinking in the modern learning environments. In
Strategic imperatives and core competencies in the era of robotics and artificial
intelligence (pp. 50-80). IGI Global.
Lecture notes, (2019). Argument, good, bad and weird
L'Etang, J., McKie, D., Snow, N., & Xifra, J. (Eds.). (2015). The Routledge handbook of
critical public relations. Routledge.
Prof Horwitz, P. (2019). Critical Thinking & Logic-Lecture notes
Prof Horwitz, P. (2019).THREE Arguments Good, Bad, and Weird-Lecture notes
Torff, B. (2019). Teaching Critical Thinking: Content Integration, Domain-Specificity, and
Equity. In Handbook of Research on Promoting Higher-Order Skills and Global
Competencies in Life and Work (pp. 22-36). IGI Global.
Van Damme, K., Courtois, C., Verbrugge, K., & De Marez, L. (2015). What’s APPening to
news? A mixed-method audience-centred study on mobile news consumption. Mobile
Media & Communication, 3(2), 196-213.

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