Graduate student Shelby Luttman and ADPR Assistant Professor Dr. Sifan Xu have recently been published in New Media & Society for their research paper about how people developed online networks in protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. The two worked on social media and coding to research this.

“I was learning how to do it [coding] as we went along. Dr. Xu was incredible the whole time and I learned so much,” Luttman said.

The research paper was presented at the International Communication Association Conference digitally.

“It was a long process but it’s been so exciting. When I visited Tennessee there was just a click of it feeling right here and all of the professors, especially Dr. Xu have been so kind and helpful in making graduate school such a great experience,” Luttman said.

Shelby graduated from Appalachian State University in 2019 and is now in the masters program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her focus is in public relations, but she is particularly interested in research regarding health risks. At UTK, she serves as a graduate assistant for Dr. Xu and Dr. Holland.