Graduate Student Research

Yotam Ophir and Keui-Chun Liu.

Our faculty support graduate student-led research during their studies in our department. They have helped outstanding students to receive prestigious awards including NCA doctoral seminar fellowship and ICA/NCA/RSA/APSA top paper awards, specific dissertation funds from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, UB College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Fellowships and the Mark Diamond Research Fund. There is also the opportunity to work closely with faculty through grant funded research.  Some students also work independently on conference papers and publications with peer support. 

Graduate students.
Janet Yang with graduate students.

Below are some examples of recent journal publications led by our graduate students.

**   current graduate student co-author

*     former graduate student co-author

#     faculty co-author

Dong, X.**, & Yang, J. Z.# (2023). PFAS contamination: Pathway from communication to behavioral outcomes. Journal of Health Communication, 28(4), 205-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2023.2193144 

Lattimer, T. A.**, Tenzek, K. E.#, & Ophir, Y.# (2023). Shouts from the void: A mixed-method analysis surrounding the online chronic illness community, #NEISVoid. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2250939

Liu, S.*, & Yang, J. Z.# (2023). Narrative persuasion and psychological distance: Analyzing the effectiveness of distance-framed narratives in communicating ocean plastic pollution. Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.14111

Moore, M. M.**, Green, M. C.#, Ophir, Y.#, & Wang, H.# (2023). The effects of corrective strategies on romantic belief endorsement. Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502221138428 

Schibler, K.*, Hahn, L.#, & Green, M. C.# (2023). Investigating audience responses to cliffhangers in written narratives using affective disposition theory. Media Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2023.2219456 

Wong, J. C. S.*, Yang, J. Z.#, Liu, Z.* (2023). It’s the thoughts that count: How psychological distance and affect heuristic influence support for aid response measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2109394

Lattimer, T. A.**, Tenzek, K. E.#, Ophir, Y.#, Sullivan, S. S. (2022). Exploring web-based Twitter conversations surrounding National Healthcare Decisions Day and advance care planning from a sociocultural perspective: Computational mixed methods Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research-Formative Research, 6(4), e35795, https://doi.org/10.2196/35795

Liu, A. K.**, Ophir, Y.#, Walter, D., & Himelboim, I. (2022). Hashtag activism in a politicized pandemic: Framing the campaign to include Taiwan in the efforts to combat COVID-19. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221099173 

Toh, Z.**, & Lee, D. S. # (2022). Is that Instaworthy? Predicting content sharing behavior on social media through interpersonal goals. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 16(4), https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2022-4-5 

Andrews, E.**, & Yang, J. Z.# (2021). Behavioral modeling: Inspiring college students to intervene in instances of sexual assault. Communication Research Reports, 38(1), 33-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2020.1870446 

Liu, Z.**& Yang, J. Z.# (2021). Public support for COVID-19 responses: Cultural cognition, risk perception, and emotions. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.1965710 

Maki, K.**, & Feeley, T. H.# (2021). Influencing HIV testing intentions: Comparing Narrative and Statistical Messages. Communication Studies, 72/2, 178-194.

Moore, M. M.**, & Ophir, Y.# (2021). Big Data Actually: Analyzing the Thematic Content of 200 Romantic Comedies Using Unsupervised Machine Learning. Psychology of Popular Media. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000349

Moore, M.**, Green, M.C.#, Fitzgerald, K.**, & Paravati, E. (2021). Misuses of inspiration: Narrative effects on attributions and helping. Media and Communication, 9(2), 226-236. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v9i2.3788 

Wong, J. C. S.**, & Yang, J. Z.# (2021). Beyond party lines: The roles of compassionate goals, affect heuristic, and risk perception on Americans’ support for coronavirus response measures. Journal of Risk Research, 24(3-4), 352-368. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2020.1864012 

Yue, Z.**, Lee, D. S.#, & Xiao, J. (2021). Social media use, psychological well-being and physical health during lockdown. Information, Communication and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.2013917 

Yue, Z.**, & Stefanone, M. A.# (2021). Submitted for your approval: A cross-cultural study of selfie-related behavior. Behavior and Information Technology, https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2021.1887353