Noah Mills

Project Description

The goal of this research project was to evaluate the various strategies that short video sharing platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels use to combat misinformation. This project examined how users react to and perceive those strategies employed by TikTok and Instagram Reels. The main goal was to examine how effective those strategies are at countering misinformation and evaluate the various design principles utilized on each platform. Prior to starting this project I was required to complete CITI Group Human Research certification course and pass a comprehensive user research exam. After obtaining my certification we were then authorized by our professor to begin conducting our user research. Prior to starting my research, I conducted two literature reviews of scholarly articles related to the research topic. After the literature reviews were conducted, our research team developed a comprehensive research plan. We started with establishing five main research questions. After the reserach questions were established, we wrote out our semi-structured interview procedures. Before conducting interviews and field testing, we designed an pre-screening-survey that was shared across the JMU college campus as well as posted online. Once we received an adaquete amount of survey responses, we began choosing the best fit candidates to interview. These semi-structured interviews featured controlled observations where the users being interviewed would complete various tasks within the designated app (TikTOk or Instagram) while we would observe. Once all the interviews were conducted, each team member transcribed the interview recordings using Otter.ai, and then coded the data into a comprehensive research report. The final report is linked above.