Email: yanliu10@illinois.edu
Research Interests
Anna studies emerging technologies, data and quantification, persuasion, and strategic communication. Her research follows two lines: (1) Broadly, how emerging technologies transform content generation and media exposure in strategic communication. More specifically, how AI-generated summaries (AIGS) synthesize information, how they transform strategic communication message and media strategies in the contexts of social media, search engines, and online review platforms, as well as how consumers process the synthesized and streamlined information in AIGS. Additionally, her research on generative AI (GenAI) also explores GenAI and users’ information-seeking, as well as GenAI and creativity. (2) Broadly, Anna studies the social impact of data and quantification in strategic communication. More specifically, how brands and organizations communicate numerical data effectively and ethically in persuasive messages, and how to leverage regulatory forces and consumers’ data literacy to strengthen consumer protection.
She employs a mixed-method approach, using computational methods (e.g., computer vision, machine learning, sentiment analysis, etc.), traditional quantitative (e.g., experiment, survey, content analysis), and qualitative methods (e.g., interview, netnography) in her research.
She has 5 years of professional experience in the marketing research industry. Before joining ICR, Anna was a Senior Research Manager at Ipsos (Beijing office), one of the world’s top three marketing research firms, where she conducted research on brands, advertising, media, products, and consumers using a various methods, including survey, experiment, content analysis, focus group, in-depth interview, observation, home visit, shop-along, consumer diary, eye-tracking, social media analytics, etc.
Anna earned a B.A. in journalism from Renmin University of China and an M.S.S.c. in advertising from Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Recent Publications/Presentations
Baptiste, P.*, Fukada, M.*, Lee, Y.*, Liu, A. Y.*, & Nelson, M. R.* (In press). How Audiences Negotiate the Changing Streaming Video Landscape: Accepting or Avoiding Advertising Depends on Your Advertising Socialization. Advertising & Society Quarterly.
Liu, A. Y. & Zhang, M. M. (2026). Positivity Bias in AI-Generated Summaries of User-Generated Content: Exploring Its Sources and Impact on Public Sentiment. Computational Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.5117/CCR2026.2.4.LIU
Liu, A. Y. (2025). Ephemeral Visibility and Externally Visible Production: How Algorithmic Automation Accelerates Fans’ Data Work. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251393480
Liu, A. Y., Ji, A. R., Taneja, H. & Nelson, M. R. (2025). Stakeholder-Desired Audiences: Fans’ Audience Data Imaginaries and How They Shape Industry Data Practices. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565251366412
Liu, A. Y., & Taneja, H. (2025). Visibility of K-pop in the US: Global Rankings, ‘Audience Mis-aggregation’, and Mainstream Attention to Niche Genre. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565251320755
Pan, S., & Liu, A. Y. (2018). Examining the Effect of WeChat Usage on Social Capital among Chinese College Students. Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication, 40(4), 126-143. http://cjjc.ruc.edu.cn/CN/Y2018/V40/I4/126
Liu, A. Y., & Zhang, M. M. (2026, Aug 5-8). AI-Powered Social Information Seeking: Taxonomy Development and Cross-Cultural Comparison. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, New Orleans, United States.
Liu, A. Y. (2025, Jun 12-16). Context Matters: Exploring Consumers’ Sense-Making of Online Ratings in the Social Context. International Communication Association (ICA) Annual Conference, Denver, United States.
Gong, Z., Chen, T., Liu, A. Y., Xuan, J., & Su, L. Y. F. (2025, March 6-9). Navigating Consumer Acceptance of Cultured Meat: An Exploratory Narrative Review of Communication Strategies. American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, United States.
* The authors contributed to the work equally.
Courses Taught
- ADV 281 Advertising Research Method (Instructor of Record)
- ADV 360 Innovations in Advertising (TA)
- ADV 284 Consumer Insight (TA)
- ADV 250 Advertising and Brand Strategy (TA)
- ADV 201 Social Media and Personal Branding (TA)
- ADV 200 Data Literacy (TA)
- ADV 150 Introduction to Advertising (TA)
- MACS 100 Introduction to Popular TV & Movies (TA)
Awards and Honors
- Webtoon Emerging Scholar Award (Honorable Mention), AEJMC Advertising Division
- 2026 James Webb Young Fund, Summer Scholar, Department of Advertising, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Faculty supervisor: Dr. Michelle Nelson)
- James Webb Young Grad Research Award, Department of Advertising, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Bart A. Cummings Advertising Gift Fund (Research fund for dissertation), Department of Advertising, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Petullo Fellowship, Department of Advertising, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- James Webb Young Travel Fund, Department of Advertising, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- MusicID 2024 Digital Research Fellowship
Jiyeon Chang received her master’s degree in communication and media and bachelor’s degrees in journalism and advertising & PR at Ewha Womans University, Seoul. Jiyeon studies the psychological and societal impacts of using new media. Her newest research focuses primarily on personal traits that determine psychological well-being and improvement in work skills in the virtual work environment. As a new student in ICR, she is interested in understanding collective actions and homophily in online and social media. She also wants to examine senior citizens’ new media usage to minimize information gaps and social disparities. Before joining ICR, Jiyeon worked in a government-funded research institute in South Korea. She has contributed to policy developments in the broadcasting and media fields in line with technological developments and changes in the media environment.
Jennifer Cintron received her bachelor’s degree in English literature with a minor in film studies from North Central College. She then completed a master’s degree at Northern Illinois University, in English with a concentration in film and literature. Her research across these degrees has focused on adaption from the written to visual, emphasizing youth culture and social media. At a past conference, she has spoken on the choice of adaptation literature in youth media, as it affects ongoing conversations of cultural and historical awareness. With her new work at the ICR, she hopes to continue this path and research these ongoing changes that can be seen in the film medium. 
Namita Gupta graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi, receiving her bachelor’s in English, and she attained her master’s degree in English from Shiv Nadar University (India). Her research lies at the intersection of print and digital public sphere, where she aims to study the impact of new technologies on social and political discourse in visual and popular culture. Particularly, she is interested in examining how contesting notions of nationalism, collective memory, and belonging are interpreted in mass media texts. Before joining ICR as a PhD student, she worked as a researcher with Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, participating in various projects on gender, politics of space, and trolling. She has also held several teaching assistantships and editorial positions.
Ruochong (Alice) Ji received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics at the University of Chicago. Her bachelor’s thesis in psychology “Ramifications of social inclusion: Does social inclusion affect people’s adoption and internalization of harm-doing group normative behavior?” examined whether profile likes by group members on social media affected subsequent learning and internalization of aggressive behaviors displayed by other group members. Prior to joining ICR, she also worked as a research assistant at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Her primary research interest is in media psychology. Specifically, she is interested in the reception of health messages and scientific/political communication on social media, the effects of social media in promoting policy and social change, and influencer (real or virtual) marketing. 
Jiwon Oh’s research interests intersect digital culture, technology, and identity. Drawing upon both qualitative and computational methods, she would like to study how gendered and racialized boundaries are created, enforced, and protected within digital spaces, particularly regarding how Asian-American communities navigate pandemic-era identity politics online. Jiwon holds an MA in communication from Seoul National University, where she studied cringe culture, fandoms, and Korean popular culture. She has also conducted research with industry giants like Netflix and HYBE. She graduated magna cum laude from New York University, receiving a BS with honors in media, culture, and communication. 
Hye Soo Nah, a doctoral student at the Institute of Communications Research, has had a paper accepted for publication in Computers in Human Behavior, a scholarly journal dedicated to examining the use of computers from a psychological perspective. 
Giang V. Pham, a doctoral student at the Institute of Communications Research who is graduating with the College of Media Class of 2022, has had a paper accepted for publication in the journal PLOS ONE.
Kat Tian, a PhD student at the Institute of Communications Research (ICR), has accepted a data science internship at IBM’s New York office this summer. The position involves intensive hands-on-experience with data analysis across a variety of business cases. Senior data science interns will deploy machine-learning models built using various platforms and handle data at scale, and make recommendations for managers with real business impact. At the internship, she will work with large, untidy datasets and deliver business solutions supported by statistical research. 
