I am an expert on global Trust & Safety research that identifies risks and informs product and policy decisions in the content moderation space. This work particularly focused on risks and equity concerns facing marginalized populations in the US and South Asia. I am also passionate about research that shapes non-profit strategies, policy change or evaluation (particularly concerning technology and its impacts on society and social safety nets), and risks facing vulnerable populations in the private or public sectors.
My trust and safety and political science research in the social media space includes:
- Harmful content: Survey and qualitative research on perceptions surrounding violence and incitement content, hate speech, and harassment designed to expand recall and/or precision.
- Misinformation—particularly rumors targeting vulnerable populations (Covid misinformation, political misinformation, and misinformation related to accusations targeting vulnerable groups).
- Conceptual Frameworks and Risk Assessment in High-Risk Contexts: Identifying social media risks in countries characterized by ethnic polarization, social and political violence, and political instability.
- Human Rights and Social Media: My field research incorporated the voices of human rights defenders, journalists, and users (particularly from vulnerable populations) to shape company decisions.
- Global Research to Inform Communication and Design Strategies to Compliance: Understanding cross-country variation in institutional and company trust to shape messaging strategies.
- My research shaped four large-scale and narrower policies in content moderation that expanded enforcement, improved global content moderation program accuracy and rigor, shaped the direction of research on high-risk elections and conflict regions, and guided global design strategies to explaining regulatory compliance efforts.
- I also served as an internal expert/consultant on projects related to violent content and violence risk, social media elections risks, racial equity, video integrity, and survey experiment design.
- Political Science Consulting: I am currently conducting a project with Community Change that employs qualitative research and survey experiments to understand the potential of environmental policies to engage and mobilize low propensity voters. I am also interested in applied research to inform non-profit, union, or foundation/private sector social impact strategies, evaluate existing strategies or processes.
Methods
I have expertise in qualitative research, survey design and analysis, and experimentation.
Qualitative Methods
- In Depth Interviews
- Focus Groups
- Elite Interviews (journalists, politicians, activists)
- International fieldwork & research with marginalized/sensitive/risky populations
- Content Analysis and Labeling Programs (Qualitative Assessment Based on Content Patterns)
- Content Moderation Program Development
- Design Sprints (Leveraging research to shape design principles and international design strategies)
- Literature Reviews (with Design and Policy Recommendations Based on External Research)
Quantitative Methods
- Survey Sampling, Design, & Analysis
- Survey Experiments
- Content Analysis & Labeling Programs
- Behavioral Measurement