Algorithmic Optimization in Democratic Public Spheres —Interdisciplinary Design of a News Recommendation System

• Type of event: Seminar
• Organisation: Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences
• Funding period: 01.04.2022 to 31.03.2023
• Short title: Interdisciplinary NES

Extract from the funding application: "Political negotiation processes in democratic public spheres take place via journalistic structures, among other things. Editorial norms play an important role in the distribution of news, even though it is increasingly automated as a result of digitalization processes."

Orientation of the seminar

The seminar was aimed at students of communication science and computer science. The students' communication science and technical perspectives complemented each other. In addition to the different perspectives on dealing with data, the two disciplines also have different learning socializations. Computer science students tend to learn in a solution- and result-oriented way, while social science students tend to focus on complex contexts and structures and derive consequences for individuals and society from these. These different learning socializations pose a challenge for interdisciplinary learning, but also demonstrate the necessity of interdisciplinary projects. The exchange enabled students to critically reflect on the data practices of their own discipline. In terms of content, communication science explanations for media use and effects were dealt with, but also application-specific, technical challenges were considered.

The seminar sessions were divided into four thematic blocks: Article Database, User Behavior Database, Recommendation Logics, and Distribution and Representation. Each of these thematic blocks consisted of one session each on the specific perspectives of computer science and communication science. In a third session, these perspectives were brought together and transferred to practice.

Review and results

Students in the teaching project now understand the functions of a news recommendation system. Non-technical students were also able to gain knowledge in dealing with unstructured text data and behavioral data on news websites. Students also understand the role of news recommendation systems in democratic societies. The discussion of these topics was largely based on theoretical and empirical texts from communication science, but critical contributions from other social science disciplines also contributed. Through continuous exchange with each other and with the lecturers, the students are now able to combine different research perspectives on the topic. In addition, the students used wireframes to develop prototypes for a news recommendation system in small groups. Here, they were able to put their knowledge into practice and learn about a form of conceptualization that is rarely taught, especially in communication science. Particularly in the context of the growing technical demands on professions in journalism, these are skills with which students can distinguish themselves during and after graduation. Through interdisciplinary exchange over the semester, students have also gained a better understanding of the epistemologies and vocabularies of their own and other disciplines.

Project-based learning, in which students are asked to solve a real-world problem, for example the development of a news recommendation system, could help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills and gain practical experience in this area. This format will be used for future courses to expose students to the breadth of problem solving for these projects.

Tips from lecturers for lecturers

Activities such as discussions, group work, expert interviews and warm-ups have proven successful. Hybrid teaching as a format is helpful to enable students to learn in different realities. The use of co-teaching is also recommended so that teachers can learn directly from the practice of others (quizzes, flipcharts, blackboard images, discussion documents, etc.) Different methods can be used within courses to provide structured support for group work and discussions.

Persons involved

Laura Laugwitz, M. Sc.

Communication Science, esp. Digital Journalism and Office for Digital Teaching, WiSo

Focal points:

• Automated recommendations of messages on different platforms
• Hate speech in digital communication
• Interdisciplinary further development of methods for computational communication studies
• Feminist perspectives in and on computer science and communication studies

Contact

Nadja Schaetz, M.A.

Journalism and Communication Studies, in particular Digital Journalism

Focal points:

• Datafication and artificial intelligence
• Power asymmetries in journalism
• Critical Data Studies

Contact