The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication has named a College of Journalism and Mass Communications faculty member as one of its 2023 Emerging Scholars.
Ciera Kirkpatrick, an assistant professor of advertising and public relations, was awarded a $3,500 grant as part of an AEJMC program to recognize promising young scholars and encourage their professional growth.
The program’s mission is to identify, encourage and recognize promising emerging scholars by providing funding for research or teaching projects, with the goal of developing and nurturing journalism and mass communications educators, by fostering an intellectually stimulating environment.
As part of the program, Kirkpatrick elected to be paired with a mentor who will serve as a resource and sounding board throughout the project. Mary Beth Oliver, the Donald P. Bellisario Professor of Media Studies at Penn State in the Department of Film/Video & Media Studies, was selected to be Kirkpatrick's mentor.
Kirkpatrick designed the study to provide knowledge on how young women are using TikTok to obtain health information and how health communication messaging on TikTok influences young women’s health-related behaviors.
“It's an honor to be chosen as an emerging scholar," Kirkpatrick said. "I think TikTok is having a significant impact on young women's health and I hope this project will be able to help provide some evidence of that."
Kirkpatrick will present her preliminary findings at the annual AEJMC conference in Washington, D.C., in August. Learn more about her research and read the abstract for “Examining Health Information Seeking on TikTok and the Impact of TikTok Message Features on Young Women’s Health-Related Attitudes, Perceptions, and Behavioral Intentions” below.
