
*Seeking Industry Internship in UX / User Behavior Research for Summer 2023*
Researcher Driven by Empathy and Curiosity
Hi, I’m Song (she/her)👋. I’m a social scientist/HCI researcher conducting surveys and experiments to understand information seeking and sharing behavior. Specifically, I study how interface design influences the psychosocial mechanisms behind people’s information processing.
As a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Michigan School of Information, advised by Cliff Lampe and Andrea Thomer (now at U of Arizona), I research how people make sense of and engage with controversial or provocative information on sociotechnical platforms. I look at information literacy and design interventions (e.g., information architecture, interface cues, behavioral nudges) to promote informed and agentic interactions among users and the system.
Download my resume or academic CV (open in a new tab). You can reach me at songmil@umich.edu.
Outside research, I won’t stop chatting about food (entertaining the idea of creating Korean + Creole fusion), Formula 1, and how we need to reduce roadkill.
Research AREAS
information seeking and sharing behavior; human-computer interaction; information literacy; design intervention; social psychology
Research Methods
survey, experiment (including A/B testing), interview, focus group, content analysis, statistical analysis (R)
Recent Positions
Graduate Student Instructor: H in HCI (UX design principles; undergrad), Intro to Information Science (undergrad)
Research Assistant/Project Manager: Drawing from Theories of Justice to Respond to Online Harassment (NSF)
UX Researcher: Online cognitive-behavioral therapy app for senior citizens
Education
PhD in Information, 2024 (expected), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
MA in Library and Information Science, 2019, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
MS in Information Science, 2018, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
BA in Library and Information Science, 2015, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
SOme courses I took
- PhD
- Doctoral Foundations Seminar, Research Methods, Statistics I & II, Fundamentals of Data Collection (Survey Methodology), Attitudes and Social Judgment (Psychology), Social Media Research and Theory, Theories and Principles of Socially Just Policies (Social Work)
- Master’s
- Information Architecture, Human-Computer Interaction, Database Design, Web Programming, Social Media Mining, Knowledge Communication, Studies in Information Users, Research Methods in Library and Information Science
A quote that inspires my research and design:
“The point here is not to say that our existing intuitions are good or bad. Rather, they are the reality of what it means to be human, and effective social engineers must deal with the world as it exists, not as they wish it was.” Paul H. Robinson, UPenn Law Professor
Recent Updates
2022-06-14: I was invited to a podcast episode for Michigan Minds Social Responsibility Special Series to talk about my research on online harassment. Michigan Minds primarily features the University of Michigan faculty and is available on any podcast platform. Check out the episode and its summary here.
2022-04-25: My research on online harassers with Cliff Lampe, Sarita Schoenebeck, and JJ Prescott is covered by Michigan News! Check out the university news article and tweet about it. This work will be presented at CHI22 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems) in a poster format.
2022-04-13: I’m invited to present my research to the UMSI advisory board of directors on May 13th.
2022-03-21: I’m volunteering and presenting a poster at CHI22 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems) in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2022-03-14: I passed my doctoral field preliminary exam (paper and oral defense) with distinction. I’m very grateful to my committee, Cliff Lampe, Andrea Thomer, and Irene Pasquetto, for their amazing feedback and advice.