Research as a Humanities Student
If you told high school me that I’d lead a research study, I would have called you crazy. As someone who has always taken a special interest in the humanities and liberal arts, I never envisioned myself doing anything “sciencey.” Still, Northeastern has a way of expanding your horizons and encouraging you to take on new challenges that at first feel intense, but over time become incredibly rewarding.
My name is Sienna Harris, and I’m majoring in communications at Northeastern with minors in journalism, improv, and storytelling. When I tell someone who is an outsider to Northeastern this, they have a hard time understanding how research fits into my curriculum, given how dialed into fields of study associated with creativity I am. What huskies eventually realize, however, is that research is creative. By challenging yourself to discover new truths, you’re forced to experiment with new methods and overcome roadblocks. Through this, research yields a unique kind of creative process that offers optimal opportunity for growth as a student and as a person in our ever-evolving world.
Why I Decided to do Research
So why did I end up getting into research? Honestly, at first, it wasn’t by choice. In my sophomore year of college, I was told to enroll in a required course for my major, COMM2301, commonly known as Communication Research Methods. My class was led by one of the best professors, Dr. Briana Trifiro, who always came to class ready to teach, smiling and with a positive attitude. Her energy made the class initially fun for me, and as we dug deeper into the content, I realized I actually had a lot of interest in research. Dr. Trifiro is an expert in her field of communications, especially in social media and politics. With this in mind, I structured my class research project around social media, as I knew she’d be an excellent resource throughout the process.
The Research Process
Within my research group, we decided to study the relationship between social media use and cosmetic alterations among Gen Z. By focusing on this generation, we set our study apart from previous ones that typically focus on older generations. We compiled a survey with periodic attention checks to ensure the responses we collected were accurate and truthful. At the end of the study, we came to some shocking findings. First, contrary to older generations and existing research, we found no statistically significant relationship between time spent on Instagram and the likelihood of body dissatisfaction after running a correlation test using survey data. Additionally, men were more likely than women to be dissatisfied with their bodies due to Instagram use, but less likely to pursue a cosmetic procedure than women. Though these were the specific findings of our study, further research is required to determine whether these results are universal or whether there is any sliver of research participant error when taking the survey.
Conferences and Conventions
When Dr. Trifiro reviewed our research paper and observed our findings, she recommended we submit the project for consideration to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, or AEJMC, Southeast Colloquium. After being accepted into the conference, we had the opportunity to present our findings to a panel of research experts and professors, who asked follow-up questions about our project and pushed us to grow. The colloquium was held at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in March 2025, and we were the only undergraduate group of students at the conference. We had the chance to hear from guest speakers like Matt Winkler, the co-founder and editor-in-chief emeritus of Bloomberg News. After an eventful conference, we were invited to submit our project to the international AEJMC conference in San Francisco later that year, in August.
Though the rest of my group couldn’t attend the international convention in San Francisco, I was able to attend, and Dr. Trifiro was constantly reaching out to me to confirm that I felt ready to present. Dr. Trifiro is a prime example of a Northeastern professor because not only do our professors help you learn on campus, but they also help you learn in the real world, often providing opportunities to grow your learning and gain valuable experience. During my time in San Francisco, I also had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Daniel Nwogwugwu, one of my favorite professors at Northeastern. Even though he was not involved in my research process, he was fascinated by every detail. We had the opportunity to share a meal and discuss our research projects and future opportunities. He’s the type of professor who lights up when he talks about his field, making learning with him a magical, life-giving experience. Both he and Dr. Trifiro are excellent professors who have truly shaped my college experience and shown me the value of research, even though I was never initially interested in pursuing it when I came to college. If given the opportunity, I highly recommend taking classes with these two professors, as they will push you to grow in new ways, truly invest in your learning, and make learning fun.
My Takeaways
Now, the buzz from my project has died down since I am no longer bringing it to conferences, but my learning remains. As an invested educator, Dr. Trifiro has been helping my group members and me get our study published in an academic journal. It’s a strenuous process, but with such passionate professors at Northeastern, publication is entirely possible for undergraduate students.
Tying it all together, as I mentioned at the start of this blog, I never intended to complete research at Northeastern, and I especially didn’t intend to present my research all around the country. Still, I’ve found my time doing research to be one of the most unique opportunities I’ve had here, as it’s allowed me to grow in my learning, connect with other students and experts, and really hone my interests. Therefore, even if you’re like me and primarily interested in the humanities, I implore you to get involved in research, as the experience is unlike any other.
