Research & Creative Work
Whether we're focused on human-centered research, media research, games for entertainment and learning or documentary filmmaking – our faculty and students strive to make a difference and empower individuals.
Thematic Research Areas
The computational paradigm has revolutionized research in many disciplines, from sciences to arts and offers fresh opportunities for communication researchers to bring new life to old ideas, as well as to generate new ideas. It emphasizes the structural and dynamic understanding of human communication phenomena in various contexts (e.g., political communication, health communication, mass communication, public relations, and advertising). Computational research is not just about the data size. It requires a seamless integration of meaningful theoretical questions, powerful statistical tools, and efficient computing algorithms. Computational research is not just about social media. It can be creatively applied in both online and offline research contexts.
ComArtSci faculty members recognize we live in a global society where sensitivity to cultural factors is essential for positive outcomes. Scholarship in this signature area includes development of communication technologies for developing countries (ICT4D), understanding implications of public policy internationally, speech development in bilingual speakers, and examination of fundamental processes related to stereotypes and cultural competence. In ComArtSci, we are committed to research that helps us understand similarities and differences between and across cultures to help improve and navigate our complex and diverse world.
HERCC is a collection of over 30 faculty members engaged in research, education and outreach related to communications-based risk reduction and health promotion. Using methods such as surveys, focus groups, message production and statistical analysis, our team is able to provide specialized knowledge and expertise on all aspects of the health and environmental risk communication process. Our specialized services can be applied to any health or risk issue.
Learn More about Health & Risk, Environment and Science Communication
ComArtSci faculty members develop communication technology for different priority audiences and they also study the effects of communication technology. Scholarship in this signature area includes social, immersive, and mobile media research to answer both basic and applied research questions. Other areas of faculty interest include human computer interaction, game development, virtual reality, and media effects.
ComArtSci faculty members bring together quantitative and qualitative projects focusing on how citizens, public officials and media organizations engage in communication processes, including topics such as public affairs news, electoral campaigns and advertising, mediated images, political media effects, advocacy, engagement with civic and political institutions, and media literacy.
ComArtSci faculty members are uniquely situated to innovate, design, and launch novel ideas through their research and creative expertise. Scholarship in this signature area includes the artistry of message design through digital media, game development, immersive media, storytelling, documentary making, photography, social media, and immersive media. Our ComArtSci faculty are creative makers who want to understand the impacts of their work on individuals, organizations, and society.
Learn More About Media Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship
ComArtSci faculty focus on the neuroscientific and psychophysiological underpinnings of communication. Research in this signature area includes the fields of behavioral and cognitive science, media psychology, neurolinguistics, cognitive neuroscience, and neuromarketing. By collecting behavioral, physiological, and neuroimaging data, basic and applied questions are being investigated to study the cognitive development of communication and a variety of communicative processes.
Featured Work
Researchers Review Serious Gaming to Help Children with Chronic Illness
The capabilities of gaming technology today are astounding, and it is everywhere. It’s in our homes, cars and pockets, and it could be an answer to improving our health. Assistant Professors Bree Holtz and Taiwoo Park, along with outreach specialist Katharine Murray, conducted a systematic review on the potential for serious gaming to help promote the health of children living with chronic illness. The researchers’ findings were published in Games for Health and presented at the 2017 International Communications Association conference in San Diego, California.
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Centers and Labs
We have dedicated labs researching learning games, social science and technology, as well as a center focused on political and social issues related to media, communication and information policy.
Faculty
Shelia Cotten
MSU Foundation ProfessorDepartment
Media & InformationShelia R. Cotten is a Professor in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University. She studies technology use across the life course and the social, educational, and health impacts of that use.
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Faculty
Sandi Smith
University Distinguished ProfessorDepartment
CommunicationSandi W. Smith is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University.
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Faculty
Tai-Quan "Winson" Peng
Associate ProfessorDepartment
CommunicationWinson Peng (Ph.D., City University of Hong Kong) is an Associate Professor of the Department of Communication, Michigan State University.