How to get to know what we know: Introduction to the special issue, What do we Know about Media, Communication, Journalism, and Democracy in the Nordics?

Abstract In this introduction to the special issue, we discuss the reasons why it is difficult to orientate oneself about key results in research. Some general characteristics of research in humanities and social sciences are discussed as well as characteristics that are evident in research on media and communication. With this as a point of departure, we argue that scholars have a responsibility to support actors outside academia to acquire research-based knowledge. This must be done at an arm’s-length distance, however. We argue that one way to fulfil this responsibility is to produce literature reviews with an ambition to provide a clear answer to the question “What do we know about…?” This special issue includes eight such reviews and it is a way for Nordicom to actively contribute to the supply of science-based knowledge in media policy processes in the Nordic countries.