Research Case Studies

1. EATING DISORDER, PLASTIC SURGERY, AND SKIN WHITENING CONTENT ON INSTAGRAM (2021)

WHY: Numerous past research indicated that Instagram is negatively impacting young users, especially girls and young women. With the Wall Street Journal's recent internal report on this topic, there needs to be further efforts to identify harmful content on Instagram.
HOW: As a research consultant for SumOfUs, I conducted a content analysis (N = 720) of Instagram posts.
OUTCOME: I ran descriptive statistics on SPSS and found:
  1. For eating disorder content, 86.7% were pushing unapproved appetite suppressants.
  2. For plastic surgery content, 86.7% were using posts to promote plastic surgery procedures or clinics.
  3. ​For skin whitening content, 81.3% promoted skin whitening products.​

​To see the full data report, click here!

2. LEARNING TECHNOLOGY FROM BEAUTY YOUTUBERS (2017)

WHY: One of the most influential content creators are beauty YouTubers. While many people can understand their beauty impact, not many can recognize how they are also self-taught technology users who has exceptional video production skills. Beauty YouTubers should be explored further as technology leaders and educators. 
HOW: As a lead researcher, I conducted a 2-part study: content analysis (N = 102) and experiment (N =272).  
OUTCOME: ​I ran descriptive statistics on SPSS and found:
  1. Beauty YouTubers went beyond beauty content and shared their personal stories and cultures with their viewers.
I also created a structural regression model (see Figure 1) using AMOS and found:  
  1. ​Watching beauty YouTube videos increased viewers’ motivation to learn about video production, which was mediated by YouTuber's attractiveness.  ​

​To read more, click here!
Figure 1. The experiment pathway of effects (click to enlarge)
Photo credit: Jamie Street

3. MOTIVATION AND CREATIVITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA (2017)

Figure 2. The creativity level of social media (click to enlarge)
Photo credit: Ralston Smith
WHY: It takes immense creativity to use and produce content on social media. However, there is a lack of emphasis on understanding on how and why creativity matters on social media. Creativity can be further examined in terms of motivation to examine young social media producers' potentials. 
HOW: For my dissertation, I conducted a survey (N = 545).
OUTCOME: ​I created a structural regression model (see Figure 2) using AMOS and found:
  1. Social media producers are mostly engaged in producing texts but text production is considered as not creative. 
  2. Social media producers are least engaged in producing videos but video production is considered as most creative. 
  3. Extrinsic motivation is a stronger driver than intrinsic motivation to increase social media activity. ​
​
​To read more, click here! 

​4. FEMALE DIGITAL MUSICIANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA (2015)

WHY: While there is an existing stereotype that women are less skilled at using technology, there are many female digital musicians who are using both musical and technology skills to thrive online. These women's journeys are valuable to understand women's relationship with technology. 
HOW: As a solo researcher, I conducted 1-1 phone and Skype semi-structured interviews with an international sample of 17 female digital musicians from YouTube, SoundCloud, and Vine.
OUTCOME: I analyzed interview transcriptions using a thematic analysis and found:
  1. Female musicians used social media because they were lacking offline music opportunities and were able to find a niche audience. 
  2. These musicians selectively chose a platform based on their skills and knowledge. ​
​
​To read more, click here!
Photo credit: Soundtrap