A little birdie told me : Twitter and the 2014 New Zealand general election : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Politics at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
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Date
2016
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Massey University
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Abstract
This thesis examines the use of Twitter by ten New Zealand political parties,
their leaders, and their candidates during the campaign period immediately
preceding the 2014 General Election. Using both quantitative and qualitative
data, the thesis not only demonstrates that Twitter was a platform used by all ten
parties as part of their respective campaign strategies, but also argues that the
ways in which Twitter was used was strongly influenced by each party’s
organisational structure, resources, and, to a lesser extent, culture of
professionalism among its field of candidates. This thesis is not concerned with
measuring the effectiveness of Twitter in achieving the goals set for it by various
political parties, aiming instead to explain the variance of Twitter use during one
recent election campaign period.
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Keywords
New Zealand Parliament, Elections 2014, Twitter, Social media, Political aspects, Political campaigns, New Zealand