David E. Silva

David E. Silva, Ph.D. conducts research on digital discussion, social media, and how online spaces can improve (or get in the way) of conversations that benefit our democracy.

Using both experimental and data-centric methods, Dr. Silva tries to keep track of what is happening online and how perceptions of what seems normal are a product of both other people’s behaviors and the presentation of digital trace data. He draws heavily on theories from the fields of social and cognitive psychology as well as deliberative dialogue.

He teaches as an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies and in the School of Emerging Media and Technology at Kent State University. He got his Ph.D. from Washington State University with a minor in statistics. While at WSU, Silva served as Vice President for the Graduate and Professional Student Association while teaching and conducting research for the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. More about his current work and projects can be found at dataesilva.wordpress.com (https://dataesilva.wordpress.com/).

SCHOLARLY, CREATIVE & PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Publications

• Silva, D. E. & Brickman, J. (2021). Control Dimensions of Media Task-Switching and Emotional Well-Being. Journal of Communication Technology, 4(3), pp. 53-79. doi: 10.51548/joctec-2021-017.
• Matteson, M., Ming, Y., & Silva, D. E., (2021). The relationship between work conditions and perceptions of organizational justice among library employees. Library & Information Science Research, 43(2). doi: 10.1016/j.lisr.2021.101093
• Hmielowski, J. D., Kelvin, W., Hutchens, M. J., Beam, M. A., Silva, D. E., Donaway, R. R., & York, C. (2020). Communication behaviors during presidential elections: An examination of time, events, and battleground states. Public Opinion Quarterly. doi: 10.1093/poq/nfaa013
• Hutchens, M. J., Silva, D. E., Hmielowski, J. D., & Cicchirillo, V. J. (2019). What's in a username? Civility, group identification, and norms. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 16(3), pp. 203-218. doi: 10.1080/19331681.2019.1633983
• Silva, D. E., Hutchens, M. J., Donaway, R. R., & Beam, M. A., (2018). 300 million clicks and political engagement via Facebook in the 2016 American presidential election: How online activity changes across time and sources, Mass Communication & Society, 6, pp. 742-762. doi: 10.1080/15205436.2018.1497660
• Wang, M., & Silva, D. E. (2018). A slap or a jab: An experiment on viewing uncivil political discussions on Facebook, Computers in Human Behavior, 81, pp. 73-83. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.041

Conference Papers

• Wang, M., Clarkson, C., Donaway, R., & Silva, D. E. (2021). Influence from Home, Lessons from School, Support from Friends – A Study on Young Adults' Political Socialization in Social Media Era. Presented at the 107^th Annual Meeting of the National Communication Association in Seattle, WA.
• Silva, D. E. & Zhu, Y. (2021). “And what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops”: Parler as a “Safe Space” for American Conservative Politicians. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the 69^th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association (Virtual). Preconference session “Comparative perspectives on negativity, incivility, and toxic talk in political discussions.”
• Zhu, Y., Silva, D. E., & Beam, M. (2021). Norms, attitudes, and Third-Person Effects in VPN use of Chinese users abroad. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in New Orleans (Virtual), LA.
• Chan, C. J., Silva, D. E., & Zhu, Y. (2020). Do Opinions Change from Information or Experiences: Attitudes toward Algorithmic Systems Depend on Transparency of Design and Power Usage Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in San Francisco (Virtual), CA.
• Silva, D. E. (2019). Majority or Success: How Other’s Online Behaviors Shape Perceptions of Descriptive Incivility Norms. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Toronto, Canada.
  *1^st place: Jung-Sook Lee Student Research Paper Competition, AEJMC Division of Communication Technology
• Lee, Y-J, Park, M., Silva, D. E., Joo, J., Agarwal, P. (2019). Power Users’ Branded VR Experiences on Immersiveness and Sharing Behavior: Moderating Effect of Prior Company Schema. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Toronto, Canada.
• Silva, D. E., Hutchens, M. J., Donaway, R. R., & Beam, M. A. (2018). 300 million clicks and political engagement via Facebook in the 2016 American presidential election: How online activity changes across time and sources. Presented at the 68^th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in Prague, Czech Republic.
• Silva, D. E. (2018). Will we know it when we see it?: the Digital Disception Evaluation scale (DDES). Presented at the 68^th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in Prague, Czech Republic.
• Silva, D. E. (2018). Normalized incivility: Two studies of social cues in online discussion environments. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Washington, D.C. 
  *1^st place: Jung-Sook Lee Student Research Paper Competition, AEJMC Division of Communication Technology
• Silva, D. E. (2018). Is VR that much better?: Comparing virtual reality to other tech on presence, flow, immersion, embodiment, and emotional response. Presented at the 2018 Academic Showcase in Pullman, WA.
• Wang, M. Y. & Silva. D. E. (2017). A slap or a jab: An experiment on viewing uncivil political discussions on Facebook. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Chicago, IL.
  *3^rd place: Jung-Sook Lee Student Research Paper Competition, AEJMC Division of Communication Technology
• Silva, D. E., Hutchens, M. J., & Hmielowski, J. D. (2017). Intergroup incivility in online spaces: Fostering deliberative ideals through rebuke and endorsements. Presented at the 67^th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in San Diego, CA.
• Brickman, J., Liu, S., & Silva, D. E. (2017). “I’ve lost the weight, now feed me upvotes!” Weight loss narratives in an online support space and strategic impression management for garnering social support. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Chicago, IL. 
  *3^rd place: Jung-Sook Lee Student Research Paper Competition, AEJMC Division of Communication Technology
• Brickman, J. & Silva, D. E. (2017). Free opinions: What a popular survey-taking forum can tell researchers about recruiting participants. Presented at the 67^th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in San Diego, CA. 
  *Top poster: ICA Division of Popular Communication
• Brickman, J. & Silva, D. E. (2017). Attitudes toward task-switching moderate valence but not arousal while switching between activities. Presented at the 67^th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in San Diego, CA.
• Silva, D. E. (2016). How social indicators on discussion webpages influence interpretations of conversation norms. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Minneapolis, MN.
• Hutchens, M. H., Hmielowski, J. D., Silva, D. E., & Cicchirillo, V. (2016). What’s in a username?: Civility, group identification and norms. Presented at the 66th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in Fukuoka, Japan.
• Silva, D. E. (2015). Creating optimal online environments for civil discussion: How do indicators of community size affect perceptions of discussion civility?, The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication Thesis Proposal Defense.
• David, P., Brickman, J. S., Zhu, R. , Liu, S., & Silva, D. E. (2015). Time flies and students are productive when attention is combined with multitasking distraction. Presented at the 65th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Brickman, J. S., & Silva, D. E. (October 12, 2015). Valence and arousal while switching between activities. Presented at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication Colloquium in Pullman, WA.
• David, P., Brickman, J. S., Silva, D. E., Xu, S., & Ran, W. (2014). Beyond time and frequency: Attending to attention in media multitasking. Presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in Seattle, WA.
• Silva, D. E. (2013). The effects of anonymity on computer-mediated group decision making efficiency and quality Presented at the Western States Communication Association Conference in Coeur d'Alene, ID.