A Mixed Methods Approach to Examining the Relationship Between News Media Literacy and Political Efficacy

Abstract

Employing a convergent parallel design that combines an experiment and interviews, this study examined the relationship between news media literacy (NML) and political efficacy. The experiment tested the effect of exposure to NML messages on self-perceived media literacy and political efficacy beliefs. Experimental results suggest that NML messages influence self-perceived media literacy, which mediates political efficacy. This study also used interviews to explore how people apply NML skills to their news consumption and the relationship between news media literacy and political efficacy. The experimental and interview findings give us a more complete understanding of the complex relationship between NML and political efficacy and offer insight into the kinds of NML interventions that could be developed using theoretically and empirically validated findings.