Many research experiments involve virtual online environments with both real online content and research interventions. These experiments are often supported by manual work on front-end code, which is laborious and prone to mistakes. The goal of my project is to develop a tool that automates this experimental process. The tool will be able to replicate real online content, generate interventions according to research design, and collect relevant information from experimental subjects. The first use case of this tool will be to create mock online web pages with real news articles content and controlled digital advertisements for examining the effect of digital advertising on the spread of misinformation, the political views of the audience, and the credibility of online news.

“I am participating in SuperUROP because I want to be more deeply involved in research, especially in interdisciplinary projects. I participated in UROPs and took various classes in algorithms, programming, and statistics. I hope to learn more about the impact of algorithmic media and advertising market on the society. I am excited about both the project, the research experience, and contributing to meta-research matters.”