Recent developments in the communication ecosystem induced by the digitization of media changed the speed, scale, and impact of crisis communication as well as how publics react to crisis communication. Information about crises disseminates faster, crosses borders more often, and reaches bigger audiences. Digitization also led to a further multiplication of information during crises, which is mainly due to an abundance of user-generated content, disseminated through social media. Computational methods can help crisis communication researchers and practitioners to cope with the infodemic or information overload produced by crises in the digital age. The advantages are obvious: Computational approaches are set up quickly, deliver results almost in real-time and can be applied at large scale at low costs. However, computational approaches are often confronted with two main issues: insufficient validity and missing analytical depth. The recent focus on automated methods has led to an underestimation of more traditional approaches based on manual analysis, especially when it comes to validation and sensemaking of automatically gathered datasets. In the panel we address this question and discuss how computational methods can be applied and calibrated as well as combined with established quantitative and qualitative research methods to gain deeper insights in digital crisis communication.

The speakers:

· Valerie Hase, Research Assistant, Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich

· Keri Stephens, Professor in Organizational Communication Technology, Department of Communication Studies, University of Texas

· Minttu Tikka, Postdoctoral Researcher, Media and Communication Studies, University of Helsinki

· Gerret von Nordheim, Senior Research Associate, Department of Social Sciences, University of Hamburg