Jessica F Sparks
Biographic Data
| ID | 4639822 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jessica F Sparks |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jessica F |
| FAMILY NAME | Sparks |
| SIGNATURE | SPARKS J F |
| AFFILIATIONS | Auburn University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3352-5917 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
You're the apple of my ambivalence: Can the primary motivational aspects of GMO foods lessen GMO avoidance?
The United States population reports significant hesitance to consume GMOs. This article examines whether visual food cues can change attitudes, induce attitude ambivalence, and alter intentions to avoid purchasing GMOs. In a between-subjects experiment that varied the imagery cue (positive vs. coactive vs. no cue) accompanying GMO information, participants were randomly assigned to view a news-style article about GMO foods. Overall, positive vis…
Analyzing automated news: A systematic review of experimental evidence across 20 years of research
A systematic review of experimental research on automated journalism was conducted to examine the dominant theoretical and methodological trends across 27 experimental studies from a larger database search (n = 1,523). The analysis revealed that nearly half of coded studies did not include a manipulation check; as a result, half of the published studies did not offer evidence that their manipulation was recalled successfully by participants. A se…
Real connections in fake news: Analysis of linking behaviors of fake news websites
Hometown Transparency: Differences in Local, State, and Federal Freedom of Information Experiences
This exploratory study surveyed 330 U.S. public record requesters on their local, state, and federal experiences and behaviors. Findings showed requesters with more experience submitting requests to local and state governments had better odds of successfully receiving their records. Federal requesting experience was negatively associated with receiving requested records. Structural equation analysis also showed a significant relationship between …
PolitiTalk: Analyzing the Relationship Between Partisan Podcast Use and Political Participation
As podcasts become more prevalent in contemporary American media diets, it is important to more deeply examine their role as a source of political news and information. The current research examines the relationship between political podcast usage among adults in the United States and political participation. Survey results suggest a correlation between political podcast use and high-effort and low-effort forms of political participation. Specifi…
Audience perceptions of government documents as news sources
Research into reporting methods of journalists in the United States often focuses on efforts to be more transparent. However, little research examines the role source attribution plays in the audience’s perception of message credibility and information adequacy. Over two experiments, this research tests the role official government and elite sources play in message credibility judgments when compared to other, nongovernment and nonelite sources. …
Leaking Trust: Assessing the Effects of Leaked Documents on Political and Media Trust
Using Sex to Get the Story: Testing Reliability and Validity of a Scale Measuring a Sexist Stereotype of Female Reporters
Prejudicial behaviors toward female journalists are on the rise, yet few instruments are available to measure stereotyping of female journalists. The present work validates a new scale for measuring the prominent sexual stereotype that female journalists have sex with their sources using exploratory (N = 561) and confirmatory factor analysis (N = 580). Results reveal that the proposed scale has a reliable and replicable factor structure that is d…
Easy to read, easy to judge: Assessing readability as a heuristic for credibility in news
Despite calls for journalists and media agencies to address a disconnect between news audiences and news prose, content continues to increase in its difficulty to read and comprehend for the masses. While readability is often associated with audience comprehension and engagement, studies have neglected to assess whether readability is a factor in audience assessments of the credibility of content. Using an online experimental design, this study e…
How Covid-19 has affected college newspapers: A mixed-methods study
This study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic—with its college closures, business shutdowns, and student enrollment declines—impacted the independence of college media during the pandemic, and how those impacts will continue after the pandemic is over. Using a mixed-methods approach based on the Hierarchical Influences Model framework (Shoemaker & Reese, 2013), this study integrates the results of a survey of 126 student media news outlets with i…
At the Extremes: Assessing Readability, Grade Level, Sentiment, and Tone in US Media Outlets
This study examines the question of asymmetry/symmetry regarding the use of language in partisan media outlets in the US. Some research has suggested that conservatives and conservative media are unique in how they present information to their audience, positing that conservatives use simpler, more uncivil language. Others have noted that some of these matters, such as use of uncivil language, applies to both conservative and liberal outlets. The…
At the Extremes: Assessing Readability, Grade Level, Sentiment, and Tone in US Media Outlets
This study examines the question of asymmetry/symmetry regarding the use of language in partisan media outlets in the US. Some research has suggested that conservatives and conservative media are unique in how they present information to their audience, positing that conservatives use simpler, more uncivil language. Others have noted that some of these matters, such as use of uncivil language, applies to both conservative and liberal outlets. The…
At the Extremes: Assessing Readability, Grade Level, Sentiment, and Tone in US Media Outlets
This study examines the question of asymmetry/symmetry regarding the use of language in partisan media outlets in the US. Some research has suggested that conservatives and conservative media are unique in how they present information to their audience, positing that conservatives use simpler, more uncivil language. Others have noted that some of these matters, such as use of uncivil language, applies to both conservative and liberal outlets. The…
How Covid-19 has affected college newspapers: A mixed-methods study
This study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic—with its college closures, business shutdowns, and student enrollment declines—impacted the independence of college media during the pandemic, and how those impacts will continue after the pandemic is over. Using a mixed-methods approach based on the Hierarchical Influences Model framework (Shoemaker & Reese, 2013), this study integrates the results of a survey of 126 student media news outlets with i…
Using Sex to Get the Story: Testing Reliability and Validity of a Scale Measuring a Sexist Stereotype of Female Reporters
Prejudicial behaviors toward female journalists are on the rise, yet few instruments are available to measure stereotyping of female journalists. The present work validates a new scale for measuring the prominent sexual stereotype that female journalists have sex with their sources using exploratory (N = 561) and confirmatory factor analysis (N = 580). Results reveal that the proposed scale has a reliable and replicable factor structure that is d…
Easy to read, easy to judge: Assessing readability as a heuristic for credibility in news
Despite calls for journalists and media agencies to address a disconnect between news audiences and news prose, content continues to increase in its difficulty to read and comprehend for the masses. While readability is often associated with audience comprehension and engagement, studies have neglected to assess whether readability is a factor in audience assessments of the credibility of content. Using an online experimental design, this study e…
PolitiTalk: Analyzing the Relationship Between Partisan Podcast Use and Political Participation
As podcasts become more prevalent in contemporary American media diets, it is important to more deeply examine their role as a source of political news and information. The current research examines the relationship between political podcast usage among adults in the United States and political participation. Survey results suggest a correlation between political podcast use and high-effort and low-effort forms of political participation. Specifi…
Audience perceptions of government documents as news sources
Research into reporting methods of journalists in the United States often focuses on efforts to be more transparent. However, little research examines the role source attribution plays in the audience’s perception of message credibility and information adequacy. Over two experiments, this research tests the role official government and elite sources play in message credibility judgments when compared to other, nongovernment and nonelite sources. …
Leaking Trust: Assessing the Effects of Leaked Documents on Political and Media Trust
You're the apple of my ambivalence: Can the primary motivational aspects of GMO foods lessen GMO avoidance?
The United States population reports significant hesitance to consume GMOs. This article examines whether visual food cues can change attitudes, induce attitude ambivalence, and alter intentions to avoid purchasing GMOs. In a between-subjects experiment that varied the imagery cue (positive vs. coactive vs. no cue) accompanying GMO information, participants were randomly assigned to view a news-style article about GMO foods. Overall, positive vis…
Analyzing automated news: A systematic review of experimental evidence across 20 years of research
A systematic review of experimental research on automated journalism was conducted to examine the dominant theoretical and methodological trends across 27 experimental studies from a larger database search (n = 1,523). The analysis revealed that nearly half of coded studies did not include a manipulation check; as a result, half of the published studies did not offer evidence that their manipulation was recalled successfully by participants. A se…
Real connections in fake news: Analysis of linking behaviors of fake news websites
Hometown Transparency: Differences in Local, State, and Federal Freedom of Information Experiences
This exploratory study surveyed 330 U.S. public record requesters on their local, state, and federal experiences and behaviors. Findings showed requesters with more experience submitting requests to local and state governments had better odds of successfully receiving their records. Federal requesting experience was negatively associated with receiving requested records. Structural equation analysis also showed a significant relationship between …
Social Media and Politics (8 works) · Political science (6 works) · Misinformation and Its Impacts (5 works) · Psychology (5 works) · Media Studies and Communication (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works) · Computer Science (3 works) · Credibility (3 works) · Law (3 works) · Newspaper (3 works)