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Academic and Professional Appointments

2024 - current

Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Studies
University of Kansas

2023 - 2024

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Annenberg School for Communication
University of Pennsylvania

Faculty Supervisor: Prof. Joseph Cappella

2018 - 2023

Instructor of Record, Research and Teaching Assistant
School of Communication
The Ohio State University

2016 - 2018

Research Executive
Kantar Millward Brown (WPP Group), Shanghai, China
  • Conducted research on advertising effectiveness, commercial campaign evaluation, and brand health tracking.

  • Followed up each research project from research proposal to data analysis and final report. 

  • Served international and local brands, such as L'Oréal, Nescafé, Pizza Hut, Yili, etc.

Education

2018 - 2023

Ph.D. in Communication
The Ohio State University
Graduate interdisciplinary specialization: Quantitative Research Methods

Advisors: Profs. Zheng Joyce Wang, Robert Bond

2014 - 2016

M.S. in Communication
North Carolina State University

Advisor: Prof. Andrew Binder

2013 - 2014

M.A. in Communication and New Media
City University of Hong Kong

GPA: 3.82/4.00 with Distinction

2009 - 2013

B.A. in Advertising
Tianjin Foreign Studies University

GPA: 92/100 or 4.2/5 (ranked 1st among 46 students)

Peer Reviewed
Journal Articles

Cappella, J.N., & Li, Y. (2023). Principles of effective message design: A review and model of content and format features. Asian Communication Research, 20(3), 147-174. https://doi.org/10.20879/acr.2023.20.023

Li, Y., Wang, Z., & Li, Q. (2023). Presidential communication during the pandemic: a longitudinal examination of its relationship with partisan perceptions and behaviors in the United States. Human Communication Research, hqad025. https://doi-org/10.1093/hcr/hqad025

Li. Y., & Bond, R. M. (2023). Examining semantic (dis)similarity in news through news organizations' ideological similarity, similarity in truthfulness, and public engagement on social media: A network approach. Human Communication Research, 49(1), 47-60. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqac020

Li, Y., Gee, W., Jin, K., & Bond, R.M. (2023). Examining Homophily, Language Coordination, and Analytical Thinking in Web-Based Conversations About Vaccines on Reddit: Study Using Deep Neural Network Language Models and Computer-Assisted Conversational Analyses. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e41882. https://doi.org/10.2196/41882

Li, Y., & Bond, R. M. (2022). Evidence of the persistence and consistency of social signatures. Applied Network Science, 7(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41109-022-00448-0

Conference Papers

Li, Y. (2024, November). Unveiling Virality: In the Context of COVID-19 Vaccines, Accurate Information Triumphs over Misinformation, Driven by Network Clustering and Threat Information. Paper presented at the 2024 110th annual convention of the National Communication Association (NCA), New Orleans, LA.

Li, Y. (2024, June). The Staying Power of Misinformation: The Differential Fidelity of Information with Different Veracity in the Diffusion Landscape. Paper presented at the 2024 74th annual convention of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, Australia.

Li, Y., Wang, Z., Redbird, B., Lumpkin, R., Archit, D., Yang, K., & Cirtwill, P. (2022). The Partisan Divide and the Pandemic: “Bias” in Media Coverage, Media Selection, and Media Processing. Paper presented at the 2022 72nd annual convention of International Communication Association (ICA), Paris, France.

Wang, Z., Li, Y., & Li, Q. (2021, May). White House Communication and Its Impact on the Public during the Pandemic. Paper presented at the 2021 71th annual convention of International Communication Association (ICA), virtual online due to COVID-19.

Li, Y. (2016, November). How do People with an Interdependent Cultural Background Show Optimistic Bias? Exploring Optimistic Bias about Polluted Haze among Residents of Two Chinese Cities. Paper presented at the 2016 102nd annual convention of National Communication Association (NCA), Philadelphia, PA.

Li, Y. (2015, April). Predicting Chinese Individuals’ Intention to Have a Second Child: A Study Combining Social Norms Theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action. Paper presented at the 2015 106th annual convention of Eastern Communication Association (ECA), Philadelphia, PA.

Teaching Experience

Instructor of Record

COMS 320 Communication and New Media
AU24, KU

COMM 3558 Social Media
SU23, OSU

COMM 3628 Contemporary Persuasion Theory
AU22, OSU

COMM 2367 Persuasive Communication
SP22, OSU

COMM 3163 Industry Research Methods
AU21, OSU

COMM 3444 Advertising and Society 
SU21, OSU

COMM 3160 Communication Research Methods
SP21, OSU

COM 110 Public Speaking 
AU15, NCSU

Teaching Assistant

COMM 2540 Introduction to Communication Technologies 
AU20, OSU

COMM 3444 Advertising and Society 
SP20, OSU

COMM 2331 Strategic Communication Principles
SP20, OSU

COM 257 Media History and Technology
SP15, OSU

COM 230 Introduction to Communication Theory
AU14, OSU

Skills & Expertise

  • I am highly experienced in applying social network analysis, natural language processing, and machine learning to conduct "theory-led data-driven" research in communication and social science in general. 

  • I am proficient in R and Python. I also have experience using other statistical software, including STATA, SAS, MPlus, and SPSS.

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