Research
The School of Communication both welcomes and encourages undergraduate student involvement in the research programs of faculty and graduate students by serving as undergraduate research assistants. Research assistants play a vital role in the research of any university, by helping with data collection and analysis, computer programming, library research, and writing of research reports for presentation and conferences and for publication. Undergraduates in the social sciences with research experience (especially in the form of an undergraduate thesis) and who meet other entry requirements are often highly sought out by graduate schools, including the graduate program in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. Furthermore, people with research skills are also sought out in industry and the corporate world. Thus, serving as a research assistant can give you a competitive advantage in your quest for furthering your education in the social sciences or obtaining employment upon graduation. If you need a letter of recommendation from a faculty member for graduate school or a job, you will get a much stronger letter if you work in a faculty member’s lab. Because there is no such thing as too much experience, we especially encourage students to get involved early in their education, at least a year before graduation. It sounds a lot better for a faculty member to say that that you worked in their lab for two, three, or even four years than only a semester.
The School of Communication recruits undergraduate research assistants for ongoing research projects. You may earn "independent study" course credit by working on these projects or get involved on a voluntary basis—details are to be discussed with the faculty/project contacts.
Summer 2026 Undergraduate Research Project List
Project Title: Developing Health Communication Tools to Help Patients Communicate and Make Decisions about Genetic Risks
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Shelly Hovick
Contact Information: hovick.1@osu.edu
Total number of Research Assistants sought: 2
Project location: Remote/Online and 3149 Derby Hall
Minimum time commitment per week: 1-3 hours
Preferred qualifications: I would prefer that students have taken a research methods course, but this is not a requirement.
Project description: I’m working with colleagues at the Ross Heart Hospital at OSU to develop a decision tool to help young women with atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) decide whether to pursue genetic testing that would inform their heart care. We are conducting interviews with cancer genetics experts, as well as patients who may use the tool. RAs interested in this project will assist in conducting and/or analyzing these interviews to discern major themes and guide refinement and development of the tool. Students may also assist in the analysis of other data, including surveys of health information and genetic risk information seeking behaviors.
Remote or in-person: Remote, with the option for in-person meetings.
Format of remote interaction: RAs meet 1-2 times per week with Dr. Hovick to discuss and assign tasks, then complete tasks remotely on their own. Much of our work will be completed in May and June.
Project Title: Coding Audio Messages for Amount of Cognitive Load Required
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Rob Potter
Contact Information: potter.477@osu.edu
Total number of Research Assistants sought: 1-3
Project location: Virtual
Minimum commitment per week: 3 hours
Preferred qualifications: Students with attention to detail and an interest in media psychology. A willingness to learn/use basic Microsoft Teams, and the ability to listen closely to audio messages for particular features. This project would be particularly well suited to those interested in questions like:
What elements of sound do people pay attention to in media messages?
What aspects of strategic communication are more effective than others at accomplishing certain objectives?
How can an understanding of how the brain works help us produce better strategic communication messages?
Project description: Students selected for this project will score real-world audio advertisements based on a concept called information introduced (I2 or ‘I-squared’). Using an established codebook, team members will work with Dr. Potter to learn how theories of cognitive psychology apply to the development of the measure and then code audio ads.
These ads will be used in future laboratory studies of strategic communication effectiveness in the PANAM Lab. Students helping with the summer coding project can continue working on the lab studies for volunteer experience or course credit in the future.
Remote or in-person: This summer coding project is entirely remote.
Format of remote interaction: Initial training sessions will be done as a group over Zoom at a time convenient for all. Later, message coding may be done individually and submitted to Dr. Potter through Microsoft Teams.
Application: Email Dr. Potter explaining why the project interests you. Attach a copy of your current resume, including two references—to that email.
Communication Research Experience Program (C-REP)
Research experience is an important part of undergraduate education in the School of Communication. Some classes require student participation in research, while others allow students to earn extra credit in this way. The Communication Research Experience Program (C-REP) helps to connect students and researchers, and provides a way to track which studies a student has completed. The resources listed below provide more information about C-REP.
Video: A Student Guide to CREP