Limitations

Limitations

There are several limits to this study. Secondary research specific to Alberta is very limited, as is that pertaining to Canada. This study will therefore utilize a breadth of academic research pertinent to Alberta, Canada, and other countries. A review of the more than 240 Government of Alberta Covid-19 update videos is beyond the scope of this study, as is coding and analysis of the entirety of social media comments and unique interactions available on this topic. The data supporting this research was collected from September to December 2020, and subsequent information was therefore not included in this study but is pertinent and further study and data collection could be potentially informative in framing public health crisis discourse. Social media comments are also moderated, which limits access to content that has been filtered for abusive or misleading subject matter. It was not possible, due to this study’s scope, to identify content delivered by bots. Social media platforms evaluated in this study have been limited to Facebook due to limited scope. It should be noted one member of the research team previously worked for an NDP Member of the legislative assembly in an administrative capacity and chaired the candidate’s 2019 provincial election campaign as a volunteer. This was a historical position, and any potential bias is noted. Division of research responsibilities mitigated any bias in research.