Editing Knowledge gap hypothesis (section)

==Narrative review and meta-analytic support==

Since the 1970s, many policy makers and social scientists have been concerned with how community members acquire information via mass media.  Throughout the years, extensive research has been conducted and taken different approaches to researching the Knowledge Gap Hypothesis.

Cecilie Gaziano, a researcher of Communication and Media, Quantitative Social Research and Social Stratification wrote Forecast 2000: Widening Knowledge Gaps, to update her 1983 analysis of knowledge gap studies.<ref name="Gaziano-1997">{{Cite journal |last=Gaziano |first=Cecilie |date=1997 |title=Forecast 2000: Widening Knowledge Gaps |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/107769909707400202 |journal=Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly |language= |volume=74 |issue=2 |pages=237–264 |doi=10.1177/107769909707400202 |issn=1077-6990 |via=EBSCO|url-access=subscription }}</ref>  Gaziano discusses the connection between education and income disparities between the "haves" and "have-nots."  Gaziano conducted two narrative reviews, one of 58 articles with relevant data in 1983 <ref name="Gaziano-1983">{{Cite journal |last=Gaziano |first=Cecilie |date=1983 |title=THE KNOWLEDGE GAP: An Analytical Review of Media Effects |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/009365083010004003 |journal=Communication Research |language=en |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=447–486 |doi=10.1177/009365083010004003 |issn=0093-6502|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and the other of 39 additional studies in 1997.<ref name="Gaziano-1997" />

The interconnection between income, education and occupation are factors of the knowledge gap throughout history.  Here is a closer look at the economic gaps caused by major economic events:

* 1929 The [[Stock market crash|Stock Market Crash]] - causing the major economic turning point.
* 1950 [[Consumerism]]: Post WWII, automobile and television sales increased rapidly.  Working and middle class families were buying televisions.    All socio economic segments experienced growth.
* 1970 [[Stagflation]]: rise of inflation and recession due to oil prices, cost of Vietnam War and international competition of consumer goods caused unequal wealth distribution in the United States.
* 1997 [[Economic inequality]] for the have and have nots was greater than 1929
Hwang and Jeong (2009) conducted a meta-analysis of 46 knowledge gap studies. Consistent with Gaziano's results, however, Hwang and Jeong found constant knowledge gaps across time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hwang |first1=Yoori |last2=Jeong |first2=Se-Hoon |date=2009 |title=Revisiting the Knowledge Gap Hypothesis: A Meta-Analysis of Thirty-Five Years of Research |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/107769900908600304 |journal=Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly |language=en |volume=86 |issue=3 |pages=513–532 |doi=10.1177/107769900908600304 |issn=1077-6990|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Gaziano writes, "the most consistent result is the presence of knowledge differentials, regardless of topic, methodological, or theoretical variations, study excellence, or other variables and conditions" (1997, p.&nbsp;240). Evidence from several decades, Gaziano concludes, underscores the enduring character of knowledge gaps and indicates that they transcend topics and research settings.

Gaziano explains the conceptual framework of the knowledge barriers,  the critical conceptual issues are the following measurements:

* SES Socioeconomic status: education, income, and occupation
* [[Knowledge]]
* Knowledge gap
* Media publicity
Jeffrey Mondak and Mary Anderson (2004) released a statistical analysis of the knowledge gap hypothesis, finding out that while increased media exposure can enhance political knowledge, pre-existing socioeconomic and gender disparities often determine who benefits the most, reinforcing rather than reducing knowledge inequities. <ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Mondak |first=Jeffery J. |last2=Anderson |first2=Mary R. |date=May 2004 |title=The Knowledge Gap: A Reexamination of Gender-Based Differences in Political Knowledge |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2004.00161.x |journal=The Journal of Politics |volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=492–512 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2508.2004.00161.x |issn=0022-3816|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

"All analyses point to a common conclusion: approximately 50% of the gender gap is illusory, reflecting response patterns that work to the collective advantage of male respondents."<ref name=":1" />