Communication

Ayse Lokmanoglu

Assistant Professor, Emerging Media Studies

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Potential for UROP Funding

Overview

Dr. Ayse Lokmanoglu (Emerging Media Studies, Boston University) is seeking a motivated undergraduate student to join a research project examining political memes across major online platforms, including Reddit and 9Gag. The project investigates how political memes circulate, the narratives they promote, and how visual political communication shapes public opinion and online discourse.

This position offers hands-on experience with manual content coding of memes and the opportunity to contribute to the early development of a computational social science tool for meme analysis.

Position Overview: The student researcher will receive training in content analysis, meme typologies, and visual/political communication frameworks. The role focuses on coding a large dataset of political memes, but also includes opportunities to participate in tool development, research design, and academic writing, depending on interest and skill.

Responsibilities:
– Manually code political memes using a structured codebook
– Maintain accurate coding logs and participate in coder reliability checks
– Attend short weekly/biweekly check-in meetings
– Provide feedback on the development of a prototype meme-analysis tool

Position Details:
– Part-time: up to 5 hours per week (depending on funding)
– Flexible schedule
– Training and mentorship provided
– Potential for continued involvement in research papers, posters, or conference submissions
– Eligible for UROP funding

Qualifications
– Strong attention to detail and consistency
– Interest in political communication, memes, online culture, or digital media
– Ability to work independently and meet weekly goals
– No technical experience required; familiarity with R, Python, or content analysis is a plus