The article at hand was written by Spiro Kiousis and published by SAGE Publications in their New Media & Society magazine in 2002. The title suggests that the concept of "interactivity" will be explicated (clarified). In the abstract Kiousis states that interactivity is both a media and psychological factor that varies across communiation technologies , communication contexts and people's perceptions.
Kiousis argues that with the ongoing influx of new communication technologies, many traditional concepts in mass communication are being redefined, reworked, and reinvented. Many scholars have highlighted the confusion embedded in theoretical discussions surrounding the concept of interactivity. These questions inquire wheter interactivity is a characteristic of the context in which messages are exchanged; is it strictly dependent upon the technology used in communication interactions; or is it a perception in users' minds?
Kiousis executed the following steps to complete the project:
(1) provide a general background of interactivity;
In this step Kiousis states that one must first pinpoint some relevant assumptions (e.g. that interactivity is associated with new communication technologies). He arrives to a conclusion that the paucity of theoretical concencus can have dramatically different implications in more practical and operational terrains.
(2) survey relevant literature on the concept;
Kiousis explains that the literature review of interactivity is cumbersome due to the vast implicit and explicit definitions prepared by researchers from many different academic and professional perspectives. It's important to narrow the focus. Kiousis defines two dimensions for the literature: 1) Intellectual perspective; 2) Object emphasized.
(3) identify the concept's central operational properties;
Kiousis states that while based on the literature reviews, it is clear that operational definitions of interactivity revolve around measuring specific dimensions or subconcepts of the term. He then provides an lengthy overview of relevant theory.
(4) locate present definitions of the concepts;
Kiousis provides a few examples of the definitions of interactivity and then arrives to the conclusion that some common variables exist (provided as follows).
Two-way or multiway communication should exist, usually through a mediated channel. The roles of message sender and receiver should be interchangeable among participants. In addition, some third-order dependency among participants is usually necessary. For the most part, communicators can be human or machine, often contingent upon whether they can function as both senders and receivers. Individuals should be able to manipulate the content, form, and a pace of a mediated environment in some way. Users should be able to perceive differences in levels of interactive experiences.
(5) evaluate and modify those definitions;
Kiousis argues that there's no need to overthrow or improve previous definitons. It's better to merge them into a single hybrid definition by eliminating all the non-essential parts.
(6) propose a conceptual definition;
Kiousis provides a conceptual definition as follows:
Interactivity can be defined as the degree to which a communication technology can create a mediated environment in which participants can communicate (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many), both synchronously and asynchronously, and participate in reciprocal message exchanges (third-order dependency). With regard to human users, it additionally refers to their ability to perceive the experience as a simulation of interpersonal communication and increase the awareness of telepresence.
(7) propose an operational definition; and
Kiousis links the operational definitions with the conceptual definition:
(8) discuss the implications on future research of the arrived-at-definition.
Kiousis does not elaborate much on this topic. He simply states that definitions have been outlined that have blended the most important elements of prior conceptions into concise framework. He says that interactivity will remain a controversial concept in the literature, but it is hoped that this explication has granted a clearer picture of interactivity and how it may be studied in future investigations.
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