The plurivocal university: Typologizing the diverse voices of a research university on social media

Abstract

Science communication has diversified in the wake of the digital transformation of communication and media ecosystems. Social media enable universities, but also academics and institutions affiliated with them, to expand their communication. This leads to increasing plurivocality of universities, yet the many different voices remain largely unexplored. This study develops a typology to conceptually distinguish eight voices by their representational role, hierarchical embeddedness, type, and affiliation. Based on a quantitative content and social network analysis of more than 600 Twitter accounts linked to a research university, it identifies six types of voices empirically. The study compares interactions among these voices, showing differences between central and decentral, as well as institutional and individual voices, and highlighting closer exchanges between voices within the same disciplinary communities. It also examines topics and tonality, revealing that decentral institutional voices engage most in science-related topics, and that only current and former students express critical views.