Overview on the Scientific Research of School of New Media and Communication

In recent years, the school has actively carried out scientific research in the fields of Digital Journalism, Global Media Communication on the Internet, Al and Communication, and Algorithm Governance. The school has been approved more than 45research projects at the provincial and ministerial level or above,including 1 Major Program of the National Social Science Fund of China, 2 National Key Research and Development Programs of China,and 10 Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Social Science Fund of China. More than 100 research articles have been published in leading international and domestic journals and conferences, with several winning the Best Paper Award at CCF A conferences. The school has also established 4 national and provincial research centers, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the school.

Research Centers

1. Research Center in Big Data Analytics and computational communication

Professor Lu Jiahui serves as the head of the research center. Research in this center seeks to leverage digital and AI technologies for big data analytics and computational social science. One of the ongoing projects addressees the spreading mechanisms of consumer confidence in global economics on social media and the impacts on consumer behaviors. Research articles have published in leading international journals such as Computers in Human Behavior, Technology in Society, American Behavioral Scientist, Journal of Psychology in Personality, Health Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Medical Internet Research, JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. A research on emotional trends during the COVID-19 outbreak was reported by several news outlets including BBC International News, BBC Radio, and Nature News.

2. Research Center in Big Data Intelligence and Global Media Communication

Professor SHAO Minglai serves as the head of the research center. The research center has been engaged in interdisciplinary integration research of "Intelligent +", focusing on innovations in big data intelligence technologies at the three levels of science, technology, and engineering. It conducts research on intelligent computing and applications of big data in networks, including complex network analysis, intelligent network anomaly perception, trustworthy artificial intelligence, domain large models, AI and communication, global media communication, multimodal data analysis and recommendation. The center has achieved a series of research results, publishing in top conferences in the field of computer science such as WWW, IJCAI, KDD, AAAI, MM, NIPS, ICCV, EMNLP, and CIKM, as well as internationally renowned journals like TIFS, TDSC, and TMM. Its research outcomes have received high praise from internationally recognized scholars such as IEEE, ACM, AAAS, AAIA fellows, as well as from prominent companies like Google, IBM, and Tencent.

3. Neuro Communication Lab for New Media Research

Professor XIAO Yi is the Head of the Lab, and also an expert in communication technology and its intersection with artificial intelligence. The research of the Lab focuses on AI-driven communication, analyzing both the advantages and potential challenges of AI tools like deepfakes and chatbots in everyday interactions and crisis communication. Using advanced techniques such as EEG (electroencephalography) and eye-tracking, Professor Xiao also seeks to design human-centered AI systems that effectively guide users' responses in emergency situations. For example, he is investigating how AI can provide timely earthquake alerts to individuals while driving, ensuring safety and informed decision-making during critical moments. His research has been published in esteemed journals, including the International Journal of Information Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Health Communication, Health Communication, and Public Relations Review, among others.