What is Project M.E.D.I.A.?
Project M.E.D.I.A stands for Media Effects on Development from Infancy to Adulthood. The Project is a longitudinal study examining the effects of media (phone usage, social media, TV, books, etc.) on childhood & adolescent development. We recruited nearly 500 participants for our study, and this year we will be following up with them and collecting more exciting data. Research like Project M.E.D.I.A. has never been conducted before.
This is an amazing opportunity for undergraduate students at BYU to gain valuable research experience and spend an awesome summer in Denver, CO. Take this chance to get out of Provo for the summer and get knee-deep in real research! Project M.E.D.I.A. can also count for Capstone credits in certain majors.
If you are unable to go to Denver for the summer but still want to get involved, we are also in need of coders based in Provo, Utah! In Provo, you will work as a behavior coder. This involves watching videos of parent-child interactions or child performance on specific tasks, and coding if behaviors are present or not during those videos. You will not work directly with children, but work hours will generally be flexible, and opportunities are available to work remotely. Coding experience can also count for Capstone credit in certain majors.
Testimonials
"I have learned a lot more about the career trajectories of the PIs. I have also gained valuable leadership experience and strengthened my attention to detail. As a YouTube coder, I most enjoy learning about the videos and topics that kids are interested in."
ELLA
"Project Media has taught me more about the research process and how data is measured and evaluated. This has helped me in my academic studies to better understand what data looks like and how it can be applied in real world situations. It has also given me insights into how different concepts or topics could be measured in a study, and how I could potentially design my own research study. One of my favorite things from working for Project Media is to see the families and children in the study and to see how they interact and behave. It is more meaningful seeing the people behind the data, instead of just the data itself. I love seeing the children that make this research possible, and it helps remind me how what we are doing is meant to benefit these children and future generations. "
PM CODER
"I feel like being involved at this level of research gave me a real appreciation for the detail that goes into successfully answering a research question in the social sciences. This is a field with so much nuance and ambiguity, but these researchers are brilliant in finding ways to make things measurable. I have a lot of respect for that. And at the same time, I now understand that even if we conduct all the research in the world, individuals are so unique and complex. The patterns we discover are useful, but we need to be cautious to not rely on them too much, and it is good to still leave space for people to surprise us. I have really enjoyed working with the teams that I have been on. I have learned so much about leadership in my role as a coding lead, and love how much I learn from my team when I am humble in teaching them. I have really enjoyed feeling like I have become a sort of expert on this codebook (I am in the POS scheme)."
