Research

Research mission

  • Effectively use the most advanced theory and methods for examining communication
  • Address both theoretical and applied problems and their intersection
  • Integrate the talents and abilities of researchers across fields at Boston University to focus on communication-related issues
  • Educate undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty on cutting-edge developments in communication research

Academic Research

COM researchers maintain active academic research programs across a variety of study areas including:

  • Media effects
  • Media studies
  • Adoption of new communication technologies
  • Political communication process and impact
  • Public relation process and impact
  • The impact of media on popular culture
  • The role of media in international public diplomacy
  • The process and impact of international communication
  • The impact of media portrayals on gender self-image
  • Communication and environment, science and health

Faculty Feature

Mina Tsay

Mina Tsay Profiled in BU Research Magazine

A trio of researchers is turning to reality television and Facebook to understand how young people view—and value—personal disclosure when it comes to their time online.

Mina Tsay, assistant professor of mass communication, has spent two years exploring how perceptions of online privacy differ among college freshmen and sophomores who use Facebook and those who watch reality TV. To some extent, both environments are predicated on the disclosure of personal information, but Tsay’s research indicates that frequent Facebook users do not hold the same opinions about privacy as their less-frequent user counterparts, and opinions also differ from consumers of reality TV.