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Frank Waddell, Ph.D.

Frank Waddell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor - Department of Journalism

Office: 3067 Weimer

Phone: 352-294-1627

Email: frank.waddell@ufl.edu

Frank Waddell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor - Department of Journalism

Dr. T. Franklin Waddell is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications.

His current research interests are at the intersection of new technology and online storytelling including work related to automated news, the psychology of online comments, and the effects of social television.

Dr. Waddell’s research has been published in a variety of journals including first author articles at Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, New Media & Society, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Communication Monographs, Digital Journalism, Journalism Studies, Electronic News, Journal of Media Psychology, International Journal of Communication, Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, and ACM CHI, among other outlets. His work has also earned top paper honors at divisions of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Dr, Waddell teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in research methods, communication theory, and mass communication statistics. In 2017, he was awarded for “Outstanding Service on Behalf of Graduate & Professional Students” by the University of Florida Graduate Student Council. In 2018, he was awarded the “Excellence Award for Assistant Professors” at the University of Florida.

Areas of Expertise

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Communication Technology, Disinformation / Misinformation, Media Psychology and Media Effects, Trust

Education

Ph.D., Mass Communication, Pennsylvania State University, 2016
M.A., Communication, Virginia Tech, 2012
B.A., Communication, Virginia Tech, 2010

News

Publications

Selected Publications

Waddell, F., Overton, H., & McKeever, R. (2022). Does sample source matter for theory? Testing model invariance with the influence of presumed influence model across Amazon Mechanical Turk and Qualtrics Panels. Computers in Human Behavior. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2022.107416

Waddell, T. F. (2020). Do press releases about digital game research influence presumed effects? How details about methodology and references to societal violence affect the anticipated influence of violent video games. Mass Communication & Society, 23(3), 400-420. DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2019.1672751

Waddell, T. F., & Sundar, S. S. (2020). Bandwagon effects in social television: How audience metrics related to size and opinion affect the enjoyment of digital media. Computers in Human Behavior, 107. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2020.106270

Waddell, F. (2019). Can an algorithm reduce the perceived bias of news? Testing the effect of machine attribution on news readers’ evaluations of bias, anthropomorphism, and credibility. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.

Waddell, F. (2018). A robot wrote this? How perceived machine authorship affects news credibility. Digital Journalism. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2017.1384319

Research

Research Keywords

Online News, Automated Journalism, Social Television, Media Violence

Research Areas

  • Media Effects, Media Psychology

Courses