I’m a social media researcher examining user psychology and behavior.
Our understanding of community has changed. Our social networks have shifted, sometimes as hybrid groups of offline and online friends, but occasionally as entirely digital connections. I seek to understand how users see their social media networks, and their place within them.
Areas of Inquiry
User Interaction
Social Media Platforms
Mediated Communication
Social Psychology
Health Communication
Political Communication
Research Skills
Quantitative Methods
Qualitative Methods
Social Scientific Expertise
Multivariate Statistics
Scraping using Python
Analysis using R, SPSS
Published Research
All datasets are available and may be shared upon request. I can also share Python scripts used for data collection.
Imgur group identity and commenting norms
From an examination of Imgur posts and comments, findings suggest that users communicate in predictable patterns. More importantly, I theorize that these patterns stem from social identification and corresponding social norms.
Method: Content Analysis
Dataset: 105 Imgur posts and 4404 comments
Reddit and the 2016 Presidential election
This project explored images shared by users of r/hillaryclinton and r/The_Donald during the 2016 election. Results indicated that Clinton supporters framed her as a unidimensional candidate, while Trump supporters portrayed him as a multidimensional and capable leader.
Method: Content Analysis
Dataset: 701 Reddit posts
Imgur, depression, and social support
This work examined Imgur posts that discussed depression and the comments submitted in response. Findings suggest that Imgur users are supportive of community members dealing with mental health issues, frequently offering empathy and advice.
Method: Content Analysis
Dataset: 20 Imgur posts and 5584 comments
YouTube cancer vlogging and social support
Through an exploration of YouTube cancer vlogs and corresponding user comments, this study indicates that vlogging may be an effective way for cancer patients to find support. The results also suggest that narrative features differ in how much support they elicit.
Method: Content Analysis
Dataset: 70 YouTube vlogs and 869 comments
YouTube, obesity, and prejudice in comments
Following the viral videos “Fat Girl Tinder Date” and “Fat Guy Tinder Date,” this project analyzed YouTube comments concerning gender and weight. Findings suggest that attacks on overweight people were far more common than defenses, especially when targeting women.
Method: Content Analysis
Dataset: 2 YouTube videos and 320 comments
Telling a story through personal experience
This experimental study tested whether personal testimonies in news coverage would influence how people make sense of social problems. The results indicate that empathetic viewers respond to personal testimonies by assigning blame to systemic causes.
Methods: Experiment, Content Analysis
Dataset: 80 participants, 560 open-ended responses
Learn More (in press)
Selected Ongoing Research
Imgur posts about cancer and social support
This ongoing project examines comment responses to Imgur posts about cancer. Preliminary findings suggest that Imgur users frequently respond with empathy, providing reassurance and information to community members dealing with various forms of cancer.
Method: Content Analysis
Dataset: 117 Imgur posts and 2511 comments
Imgur group identity and persuasive messaging
This work seeks to understand how users process persuasive messages presented by their community. Findings indicate that users process messages more deeply, and are more persuaded after reading a message in an Imgur post than elsewhere.
Methods: Experiment, Survey
Dataset: 323 participants, closed and open-ended survey responses
Reddit as a platform for political identity
This developing project examines user activity in r/The_Donald and r/Conservative. Centrally, this research focuses on political conservativism and how this ideology is signaled by users of these subreddits.
Methods: Content Analysis, Linguistic Analysis
Dataset: 365+ Reddit posts and 23,023+ comments (collection ongoing)
Reddit as a source for COVID-19 information
This emerging project examines user activity in the r/Coronavirus subreddit. In particular, this project focuses on information sharing within the subreddit and discourse surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Content Analysis, Linguistic Analysis
Dataset: 180+ Reddit posts and 19,209+ comments (collection ongoing)
