*/ research

i want to understand how the social structures scaffolding online spaces shape how people come to know things online. i am primarily motivated to use computational social science methods, particularly with big data and text processing.
information flows through an existing circuit of digital communities, conversations, and connections before reaching an individual.
there is no universal means for people to receive, interpret, and share information online; rather, it is unique and depends on individuals’ social networks. accounting for this is crucial in future research: measures to combat issues of online misinformation, extremism, and media literacy will only be effective if rooted in a nuanced and context-specific understanding of online human behavior.
i plan to research how processes of information are mediated by the multi-dimensional nature of these human-computer interactions, with particular attention to its sociopolitical implications in identity and culture.

thanks to the wonderful people at the Community Data Science Collective for supporting me throughout my first serious research endeavor! It'd be a mistake to believe we could ever fully explain human interactions. The Internet just makes that even weirder. I started wondering about the "haters" and how people sometimes are really proud to be 'decorated, five-star haters." After reading the robust work already trying to map our online communities, and discussions with Sohyeon Hwang, Dr. Nate TeBlunthuis, and Dr. Aaron Shaw, it turns out we haven't really taken the haters seriously yet.

When people talk about politics online, their conversations are not necessarily intentionally and/or solely political in content. Take, for instance, a college application advice forum that opens discussion on affirmative action policies, or a group of fans comparing the events of a fantasy show to a real-world political conflict.
This subtler level of political engagement is produced through the platforms it takes place on; there is no way to separate the 'political' content from the 'non-political' content within these discussions. Then, as online platforms and digital social networks develop, they give rise to new and unfamiliar modes of political communication.
In order to understand how digital platforms alter online political communication, I use computational grounded theory to ask: 1] How do features of online communities shape the content, process, and outcomes of political communication? 2] How have online communities enabled new ways to do political communication?

I was lucky to have to opportunity to work under Professor Shmulik Nili I assisted Dr.Nili with upcoming manuscripts on political philosophy and international relations.

you can check out pieces i wrote for class here, i hope this can show my affinity for interdisciplinary thinking and my potential to improve as a writer/student/reader

i worked as a research assistant for the learning in places lab, where i conducted qualitative coding to support the team's investigation into a well-rounded socioecological curriculum for children

i worked as a research assistant for the i worked full-time in a research and writing capacity for the ocean conservancy. primarily, i helped put together urban oceans toolkit, which was meant for key city decision makers. outside of that, i was able to complete independent research on environmental justice issues at shipping ports and then presented it to the ports team. at OC, i applied my research skills in a corporate setting and saw them much improved afterwards.

remotely assisted in the scripps institute of oceanography's human ecology lab, using SPSS and Excel to generate data analysis. i specifically worked on a project examining altering perceptions of immediate climate change threat in trinidad and tobago.