Graduate Research Round-Up: Spring 2024

One of the hallmarks of our Research M.A. and Ph.D. programs is the opportunity for students to work on and often lead collaborative research projects. Our internationally recognized program prepares students with the quantitative and qualitative research skills necessary to conduct field-leading research and many of our students publish their work throughout their time at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In spring 2024, several of our students published their research in major communication research journals.

Aman Abhishek

Article: Analyzing Code: What a Critical Code Studies Approach Reveals About the Epistemology of Data Journalism

Journal: Digital Journalism

Citation: Abhishek, A., & Graves, L. (2024). Analyzing Code: What a Critical Code Studies Approach Reveals About the Epistemology of Data Journalism. Digital Journalism, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2024.2345205

Summary of the research

The study in this article departs from previous efforts by examining the role of both quantitative data and computational analysis in data-driven reporting. The article highlights the continued dependence on government data as well as the labor involved in scraping web data.

Lynne Cotter

Article: Countering online marketing and user endorsements with enhanced cannabis warning labels: An online experiment among at-risk youth and young adults

Journal: Preventive Medicine

Citation: Yang, S., Cotter, L. M., Lu, L., Kriss, L. A., Minich, M., Liu, J., … & Cascio, C. N. (2024). Countering online marketing and user endorsements with enhanced cannabis warning labels: An online experiment among at-risk youth and young adults. Preventive Medicine, 180, 107877.

Summary of the research

We studied the impact of adding cannabis warning labels to delicious-looking cannabis edible products in a social media context with accompanying pro or anti cannabis comments. Adding pro-cannabis comments make the products more attractive to young adults, but the graphic warning labels were able to counter that social commentary.

What did you learn from this research project?

This was my first CAMER paper and I learned so much about the process of setting up a Qualtrics survey using javascript to randomize messages, all the way to writing the analysis script, reading results, and putting them into a paper. 10/10 would do again!

Max Fuller

Article: A Socially Responsible Trade: An Analysis of Ethical Discourse in Editor & Publisher, 1930-1934

Journal: American Journalism

Citation: Fuller, M. (2024). A Socially Responsible Trade: An Analysis of Ethical Discourse in Editor & Publisher, 1930-1934. American Journalism, 41(2), 231–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2024.2340677

Summary of the research

Max analyzed 265 E&P issues, published between 1930 and 1934, and found that reporters of the day were highly concerned about journalism ethics and argues that these ethical conversations promoted functions of a press system outlined by the Social Responsibility Theory of the Press more than a decade before its adoption in 1947.

Mengyu Li, Macau Mak

Mengyu Li

Article: Social Media and Perceived Political Polarization: Role of Perceived Platform Affordances, Participation in Uncivil Political Discussion, and Perceived Others’ Engagement

Journal: Social Media + Society

Citation: Mak, M. K. F., Li, M., & Rojas, H. (2024). Social Media and Perceived Political Polarization: Role of Perceived Platform Affordances, Participation in Uncivil Political Discussion, and Perceived Others’ Engagement. Social Media + Society, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051241228595

Summary of the research

Macau Ka Fai Mak

Mengyu Li: “This research applies a perceived affordance approach to examine the distinctive role of social media technologies in shaping (mis)perceptions of political polarization. Our analysis of US survey data found that perceptions of lower privacy and stronger network association on Facebook are related to perceptions of a higher level of uncivil discussion by other users, which in turn predicts greater perceived polarization. Perceptions of higher anonymity relate to higher self-participation in uncivil discussion, which is surprisingly associated with perceptions of reduced polarization.”

What did you learn from the research project?

Mengyu Li: “I’ve come to understand that conducting research is a challenging endeavor, demanding significant time and dedication to locate reliable sources and ensure the accuracy of information. Moreover, synthesizing gathered data into a coherent argument requires considerable effort. But I’ve also found that research can be really rewarding. It helps me learn new things and understand complex topics better.”

Luis Loya, Matt Minich (PhD’23), Jessica Needle (MA’23)

Luis Loya

Article: A Skills-driven Approach to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Journalism Curricula

Journal: Journalism Practice

Citation: Minich, M., Loya, L., Culver, K. B., & Needle, J. P. (2024). A Skills-driven Approach to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Journalism Curricula. Journalism Practice, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2024.2311312

Summary of the research

The research team conducted interviews with media professionals and professors recognized for their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work to identify changes that may be made to communication skills course curriculum to better prepare journalists for ethical and less harmful reporting.

Linqi Lu

Linqi Lu

Article: The Effects of Vaccine Efficacy Information on Vaccination Intentions Through Perceived Response Efficacy and Hope

Journal: Journal of Health Communication

Citation: Lu, L., Liu, J., Kim, S. J., Tao, R., Shah, D. V., & McLeod, D. M. (2023). The effects of vaccine efficacy information on vaccination intentions through perceived response efficacy and hope. Journal of Health Communication, 28(2), 121-129.

Summary of the research

Findings suggest that communicating a high efficacy rate of the vaccine in preventing severe illness increased perceived response efficacy, which in turn boosted vaccination intention directly and indirectly through increasing hope. Also, fear about the virus was positively associated with hope about the vaccine.

Luhang Sun, Yibing Sun, Yoo Ji Suh

Luhang Sun

Yoo Ji Suh

Article: Smiling women pitching down: auditing representational and presentational gender biases in image-generative AI

Journal: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication

Citation: Luhang Sun, Mian Wei, Yibing Sun, Yoo Ji Suh, Liwei Shen, Sijia Yang, Smiling women pitching down: auditing representational and presentational gender biases in image-generative AI, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Volume 29, Issue 1, January 2024, zmad045, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmad045

Summary of the research

The article examines the potential occupational gender biases in AI-generated images and ultimately finds that the images underrepresent women in male-dominated fields while over-representing them in female-dominated occupations.

Yiming Wang

Article: Coronaphobia or sinophobia: How journalistic practices in early COVID-19 coverage and online commentary affect anti-Chinese sentiment in the U.S.

Journal: Journalism

Citation: Wang, Y., Chen, J., Tao, R., & Yang, S. (2024). Coronaphobia or sinophobia: How journalistic practices in early COVID-19 coverage and online commentary affect anti-Chinese sentiment in the U.S. Journalism, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849241241152

Summary of research

The article examines intergroup animosity during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that stigmatizing outgroup cues amplified the effect of ingroup suffering, thus heightening anti-Chinese sentiment. Yiming’s findings underscore the importance of evaluating the implications of journalistic practices in public health reporting.