Chapter 4 The Use of the Word Context in Group Communication Research

The term context has been utilized in scholarship to reference a variety of phenomena and settings across the communication discipline and field of group communication. This chapter examines journal articles and book chapters to explore how the word context is used in group communication scholarship. The hope is that by considering how context is used in academic writing, scholars may find ways to better specify the influences and features of group communication studies. If not, the term context may continue to be used in reference to almost anything, which means the word may be unhelpful or prevent meaningful conversations across journal articles.