Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media
Explore the various projects below categorized under the general theme of Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media. Be sure to return to the Barrett College Fellows Program main page and explore projects under the other 11 themes as well. You might be surprised at what you find and maybe you will discover the perfect research project for what you hope to study!
Please do not contact the research centers or faculty listed below directly (a formal application process is a required step to joining these research opportunities).
For questions about the Barrett College Fellows Program or specific research projects, please contact Dr. Sarah Graff at: BarrettCollegeFellows@exchange.asu.edu.
Projects with an asterisk (*) indicate projects still taking students. If you would like to apply for any of these projects, please contact barrettcollegefellows@asu.edu and fill out the student application.
Research projects
Project # 19
Center name: Relationships and Technology Lab
Campus/Location: Tempe
Faculty lead: Liesel Sharabi
Project description
The Relationships and Technology Lab in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication is seeking Barrett Fellows for the 2024-2025 academic year. The lab conducts social scientific research at the intersection of interpersonal relationships and communication technologies (for example, dating apps, artificial intelligence, social media, and virtual reality).
Special skills needed
No additional skills required.
Majors
Social Sciences, Communication, Psychology, Computer Science
Years
1st-year students (new to ASU Fall 2024), 2nd-year students, 3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Project # 27
Center name: Latinx Leadership Academy in the Performing Arts
Campus/Location: Tempe
Faculty lead: Micha Espinosa
Project description
The Latinx Leadership Academy in the Performing Arts (LLAPA) is an initiative to empower, inspire, and motivate Latinx high school students in Arizona. Latinx students and professionals are under-represented in the field and face multiple barriers. To that end, LLAPA uses culturally sustaining training and leadership development techniques to foster positive narratives that prepare Latinx students for successful careers in the performing arts. LLAPA is committed to systemic change and will work with administrators, teachers, students, and their families to transform beliefs, attitudes, and policies and will celebrate and invest in Latinx culture, heritage and identity practices, and creative leadership. Latinx students who study the performing arts are confronted with many factors that limit their success including, diminishing resources, lack of formal mentorship, systemic bias, structural inequality, and organizational barriers. This interdisciplinary academy will improve access to these resources and help these students realize the artists’ role in the relationship between cultural investment, economic development, and social impact.
Special skills needed
Required skills include: 1) communication skills - effective written and verbal communication skills are essential for conveying the organization's message clearly and building relationships with various stakeholders; 2) research skills - ability to conduct research to identify potential partners, opportunities, and community needs to tailor outreach efforts effectively; 3) cultural competency - sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to adapt outreach strategies to diverse communities; 4) management - oganizational skills to plan, execute, and track multiple outreach projects simultaneously; and 5) reporting and documentation - keeping records, documenting outreach activities, and preparing reports to measure progress and outcomes.
Majors
Open to all students interested in the project's mission
Years
1st-year students (new to ASU Fall 2024), 2nd-year students, 3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Art, Architecture, and Design, Business and Entrepreneurship, Education, Humanities, Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Project # 59
Center name: Global Center for Applied Health Research
Campus/Location: Downtown
Faculty lead: Flavio Marsiglia
Project description
Directed by Dr. Flavio Marsiglia, the Barrett Fellow will support the Global Center by enhancing its research dissemination and public health education strategy through social media content strategy, marketing materials, and reports. Ideal for a student interested in public health education, health communication, social media marketing, or public relations.
Special skills needed
Strong writing skills and experience with social media, graphic design, journalism, report writing, and Public Health communication.
Majors
Graphic Design, Journalism, Social Work, Communications, Sociology, Public Health
Years
1st-year students (new to ASU Fall 2024), 2nd-year students, 3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Project # 62
Center name: Center for Negative Carbon Emissions
Campus/Location: Tempe, West, Fully remote
Faculty lead: Stephanie Arcusa
Project description
Prof. Arcusa is seeking Barrett Fellows interested in joining the fight to stop global warming. Carbon removal is a set of technologies that capture carbon dioxide from the air and stores it in rocks, oceans, vegetation, and soils. We cannot keep the Paris Agreement to stay below 1.5 or 2 degree C alive without carbon removal. This means a global carbon removal industry will need to be developed and two of the pressing questions are: how will we certify that carbon removal is taking place as claimed (that is, carbon accounting) and what policies will we need to put in place to sustain such an industry. This project has various opportunities depending on the interest of the Barrett Fellow. Topical questions that need answering span law, justice, business, communication, engineering, public policy, international trade, diplomacy, economics, sustainability, and earth science. Answers will have real world applications for a growing carbon removal industry.
Special skills needed
Curiosity.
Majors
Engineering, Business, Public Policy, Global Management, Economics, Law, Humanities
Years
1st-year students (new to ASU Fall 2024), 2nd-year students, 3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Business and Entrepreneurship, Data Analytics and Mathematics, Engineering, Humanities, Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media, Law, Justice, and Public Service, Sustainability
Project # 78
Center name: TechnoMaterials Lab
Campus/Location: Tempe
Faculty lead: Jaime Kirtz
Project description
The project will investigate issues of algorithmic bias and social inequalities in AI and media technologies across historical and contemporary contexts and involves a mixture of qualitative, theoretical and/or praxis-based research. While the primary focus will be on issues relating to gender, race and sexuality, there will be flexibility for students to propose their own areas of interest. The precise topic is to be determined but possible topics include: representation in social media (for example, GIFs, emojis); bias in AI communication technology (search engines, content moderation technologies); domestication of AI through smart home technologies; media archaeology/history of domestic technologies; computing history and design; crafts, platforms (Etsy) and AI systems; changes to domestic labor through new technology; and textile arts and code.
Special skills needed
Organizational skills, leadership, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, interest in topic, ability to work independently, and qualitative research experience (though not required).
Majors
Communication, English, Gender Studies, History, Sociology, American Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, any degrees in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Years
1st-year students (new to ASU Fall 2024), 2nd-year students, 3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Project # 83
Center name: ASU Social Media Observatory @ Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College
Campus/Location: Tempe, Fully remote
Faculty lead: Bryan Henderson
Project description
This research seeks to identify trends in how students make sense of science-related information (for example, climate change; COVID vaccinations) through social media, and then informed by these trends, design classroom interventions to support students in more critically evaluating the different ways science information is spread throughout digital social networks like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Our research team has been developing classroom activities for middle school students designed to help them think more critically about the science-related information they encounter on social media. For example, we have been developing classroom activities where students have to make sense of conflicting evidence about climate change being shared by two different hypothetical accounts on social media. These activities are being delivered to students through a classroom technology that we created called Braincandy. Barrett Fellows will further the development of these social media classroom activities and assist with pilot testing them at local schools.
Special skills needed
While all necessary skills can be trained during the research itself, some experience with digital content creation (for example, graphic design; presentation creation; image editing) is desirable; a genuine interest in education or science-related issues is also a plus.
Majors
Open to all majors though students who are interested in social media misinformation; developing classroom materials that support more critical sensemaking of social media information; and the intersections of science/technology, Psychology/Sociology, and Education may find this project particularly relevant
Years
1st-year students (new to ASU Fall 2024), 2nd-year students, 3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Project # 90
Center name: Learning Futures Collaborative on Education, Sustainability, and Global Futures
Campus/Location: Tempe
Faculty lead: Iveta Silova
Project description
Despite efforts stemming from the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, schools and higher education institutions continue to perpetuate the status quo by reproducing the logic of human exceptionalism, liberal individualism, and the hierarchical “man over nature” relationship, fueling infinite economic growth on a finite planet. This Learning Futures Collaborative aims to reimagine and reconfigure education toward the future survival of the planet and people. Join Professors Iveta Silova and Andrea Weinberg to explore the latest literature on education, sustainability/climate, and global futures, as well as engage in hands-on research projects and participate in ongoing events that explore these questions from various perspectives.
Special skills needed
Literature review, qualitative data analysis, social media, and data visualization.
Majors
Open to any Social Science and Humanities major (and others if there is a compelling reason)
Years
2nd-year students, 3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Art, Architecture, and Design, Education, Health and Wellness, Humanities, Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Sustainability
Project # 108
Center name: Media Information, Data and Society Lab (MIDaS Lab)
Campus/Location: Downtown
Faculty lead: Hazel Kwon
Project description
This research project explores editorial counter-misinformation efforts by the U.S. ethnic media outlets. It will attempt to assess the effectiveness of these efforts and identify good practices for news outlets responding to the problem of mis/disinformation among ethnic communities. Misinformation has been persistent in Spanish-speaking communities in the U.S., while Black Americans were disproportionately targeted during the 2016 Kremlin-linked Internet Research Agency (IRA) disinformation campaign, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, disinformation narratives associated with religious fundamentalism, nationalism, far-right movements, and Chinese-sponsored influence operations have spread into Asian, Asian-American or Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Communities of color in the U.S. have displayed a strong affinity, trust, and solidarity with ethnic media. The existing trust relationship between ethnic media and their audiences suggests that ethnic media have the potential to serve as community hubs in countering mis/disinformation. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of ethnic newsrooms’ counter-disinformation work. As part of the project, Barrett Fellows will assist Dr. K. Hazel Kwon’s research team to create an ethnic media database, overview the ethnic media ecosystem, and conduct case studies either qualitatively studying their websites or quantitatively/computationally analyzing text data (depending on the student's skillset).
Special skills needed
Required skills include familiarity with Excel; savviness using Google folder for team work; familiarity with basic descriptive statistical concept (e.g., mean, standard deviation, correlation, frequency analysis, etc.); skill using statistical analysis software (for example, SPSS, R, Python, etc.) or having a willingness to learn the software use as part of this project. Preferred skills include data science skills (for example, knowing how to use Python packages for text data analytics) and bilingual (Spanish or any Asian language).
Majors
Media, Journalism, Communication, Computer Science, Political Science, (Social) Statistics
Years
3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Data Analytics and Mathematics, Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media
Project # 134
Center name: Food and Agribusiness Lab
Campus/Location: Tempe, Polytechnic, Fully remote
Faculty lead: Alexis Villacis
Project description
This project aims to conduct a comprehensive literature review on coffee production systems in the United States with a specific focus on the unique contexts of Hawaii and Puerto Rico. By synthesizing existing research and scholarly articles, we intend to provide a nuanced understanding of the challenges, innovations, and sustainability practices prevalent in these two regions. The review will delve into various aspects of coffee cultivation, including agronomic practices, environmental impact, economic considerations, and social dimensions. By scrutinizing the literature, we aim to identify key trends, gaps in knowledge, and potential areas for improvement within the coffee production systems of Hawaii and Puerto Rico. This research endeavor not only contributes to the academic discourse surrounding coffee agriculture but also serves as a valuable resource for stakeholders, policymakers, and industry professionals seeking to enhance the resilience and efficiency of coffee cultivation in these unique American landscapes.
Special skills needed
Analytical thinking, communication skills, attention to detail, time management, interdisciplinary perspective, and adaptability.
Majors
Business, Sustainability, Agribusiness, Supply Chain, other related fields
Years
3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Biological, Chemical, and Physical Sciences, Business and Entrepreneurship, Data Analytics and Mathematics, Humanities, Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media, Sustainability
Project # 160
Center name: The Embryo Project
Campus/Location: Tempe
Faculty lead: Jane Maienschein
Project description
The Embryo Project Writing Seminar is an intense writers workshop, in which students begin by identifying a topic, doing research, and then they proceed to writing articles that we workshop as a team every week. Style guides provide direction for the writing. We all comment on everyone else’s work, and then each author goes through several rounds of revision. Successful articles go through rigorous reviewing and fact checking, then are published in the Embryo Project Encyclopedia. In addition, we have developed a collaboration with Ask A Biologist to write Embryo Tales that draw on Embryo Project Encyclopedia article. These are designed for a wide audience. Both receive considerable public and scholarly attention, and both offer high quality information. These projects are part of the Center for Biology and Society and help to facilitate discovery at the intersection of biology and society through interdisciplinary approaches.
Special skills needed
Students who love the challenge of learning to express ideas clearly and effectively for a broad audience, who thrive on learning with others, and who want to achieve high standards of writing and creative thinking.
Majors
Majors come from the life sciences, art, languages, global health, other sciences, policy, and many other areas (the mix makes for lively discussions and expanded learning)
Years
1st-year students, 2nd-year students, 3rd-year students, 4th-year students
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Biological, Chemical, and Physical Sciences, Humanities, Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media
Project # 167
Center name: SolarSPELL
Campus/Location: Tempe, Fully Remote
Faculty lead: Dr. Laura Hosman
Project description
SolarSPELL is seeking a team of interns to curate regionally-relevant, engaging, and educational Wikipedia articles to add to our offline digital libraries that are used around the globe. Wikipedia for Schools (WFS) is a curated selection of ~6,000 articles from the full Wikipedia article catalog that are meant to be school-friendly and support existing curriculum. The SolarSPELL initiative includes WFS as a collection of our offline, digital libraries which are localized for the community which will be using them. As such, further review of WFS is necessary to assess what new articles to include and what articles to (perhaps) weed out in order to be as relevant as possible to our in-country library users around the world. This project would require research into relevant supporting materials for curricula where SolarSPELL currently has libraries, including countries in the Pacific Islands, East Africa, and Southern Africa. Students proficient in Arabic may also work on the Arabic WFS for our Northeast Syria library.
Special skills needed
Ability to conduct research; thrive in a team environment and work well with others; detail oriented and reliable; a strong and honest work ethic motivates you; globally minded; you have a desire to work for a department that serves communities from all over the world.
Majors
All majors
Years
All years
Themes
Cross-listed with the following themes:
Education, Humanities, Journalism, Communication, and Mass Media, Sustainability
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