RAPID: How Scientific Data, Knowledge, and Expertise Mobilize in Online Media during the COVID-19 Crisis
- Funded by National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Total publications:0 publications
Grant number: unknown
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Key facts
Disease
COVID-19Start & end year
20202021Known Financial Commitments (USD)
$197,538Funder
National Science Foundation (NSF)Principal Investigator
Emma SpiroResearch Location
United States of AmericaLead Research Institution
University of WashingtonResearch Priority Alignment
N/A
Research Category
Policies for public health, disease control & community resilience
Research Subcategory
Communication
Special Interest Tags
N/A
Study Type
Non-Clinical
Clinical Trial Details
N/A
Broad Policy Alignment
Pending
Age Group
Not Applicable
Vulnerable Population
Not applicable
Occupations of Interest
Not applicable
Abstract
Alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, people around the globe are experiencing an information ecosystem flooded with information?some accurate, some less so. Crisis events are inherently times of uncertainty and anxiety, and under those conditions, people try to make sense of the flood of information. This process, called collective sensemaking, has psychological and informational benefits, but it also makes us vulnerable to the spread of misinformation. The collective sensemaking process around the COVID-19 pandemic is addressing acute and persistent scientific uncertainty about the disease itself, such as how it spreads and the best protective actions people can take. This proposal addresses these challenges to help inform and educate the public about the science of virus transmission and prevention?by helping to surface accurate and scientific data and knowledge, alongside the voices of trustworthy experts. The project will use artificial intelligence, statistical analysis, and expert coding to create an open data archive of scientific data and expertise as it is communicated over time and updated in news and social media. The goal is to offer the public current, accurate information about the science of virus transmission and prevention.
This research project seeks to understand how scientific knowledge, expertise, data, and communication affect the spread and correction of online misinformation about an emerging pandemic. The project team is investigating how information moves through social media platforms and jumps to and from other media platforms, including traditional journalism?online, print, and broadcast outlets. It aims to uncover how claims and statistics related to scientific knowledge and expertise shape, and are shaped by, these information and influence dynamics. Methodological contributions include expanding infrastructure for collecting and analyzing social media data in a time- and safety-critical information environment, and developing techniques for aggregating variable statistics, moderated by scientific expertise, over large-scale, dynamic social media data.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
This research project seeks to understand how scientific knowledge, expertise, data, and communication affect the spread and correction of online misinformation about an emerging pandemic. The project team is investigating how information moves through social media platforms and jumps to and from other media platforms, including traditional journalism?online, print, and broadcast outlets. It aims to uncover how claims and statistics related to scientific knowledge and expertise shape, and are shaped by, these information and influence dynamics. Methodological contributions include expanding infrastructure for collecting and analyzing social media data in a time- and safety-critical information environment, and developing techniques for aggregating variable statistics, moderated by scientific expertise, over large-scale, dynamic social media data.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.