Faculty and Student Teams Program

Project Descriptions

Sandia National Laboratories - New Mexico
Collection, storage and analysis of “word of mouth” data on the internet

Project Description

The possibility to influence the perceptions, sentiment, and behavior of social groups is of significant interest in applications ranging from product marketing to national security. Effective mechanisms are available for presenting information to the target audience, including sophisticated advertising techniques that leverage the reach of mass media (e.g., television) and innovative strategies in which influential members of society are employed to initiate “viral” information propagation. While appropriately structuring both the information and the means of dissemination are, of course, essential, it is also crucial to measure the impact of the message on the audience. To paraphrase marketing gurus from all camps: “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”

Measuring the impact of a campaign to influence the perceptions and behavior of a target audience is extremely challenging for at least two reasons. First, collecting meaningful data is notoriously difficult. For instance, it is expensive and erroneous to try to measure sentiment and activity by using surveys and related instruments. And second, even if the data can be collected, it is often unclear what aspects of the data (if any) actually provide useful indicators of present and future social behavior. We claim that the recent availability of online, Internet-based sources of “word of mouth” (WOM) data offers the potential to revolutionize the assessment and management of information campaigns.

Our approach will utilize efficient computational algorithms and parallel/distributed processing on a supercomputing cluster for the collection, storage and analysis of massive "word of mouth" (WOM) data on the internet. In turn, predictions of large scale sentiment and behavior will be made for particular cases of WOM data.

Applicants Responsibilities and Relationship to Project
Applicants will receive support under the Department of Energy Faculty Student Team Research Program (FaST) to work collaboratively with the project research team for up to 10 weeks during the summer. The exact appointment period in the time frame of June to August will be scheduled by mutual agreement between the host at Sandia National Laboratories/NM and the successful applicant. Faculty will be expected to identify students from their campuses to participate in the FaST program. The faculty member will provide some mentorship to students during the summer research activities. The faculty and students must participate as a group and serve their appointments concurrently. It is expected that the faculty member and the students become an integral part of the research team working on this project and that opportunities for continued collaboration may be identified.

Qualification of Ideal Candidate
Faculty:    PhD with experience in computer science/engineering.  Works well in both a collaborative environment with researchers and also independently.  Experience teaching and mentoring students.  Currently teaches and collaborates with students in his/her field.  Possesses good written and verbal communication skills. 

Student:  Working towards a BS/BA in computer science or engineering. Works well in collaboration with faculty, other students and researchers.  Possesses good written and verbal communication skills. 

For More Information Contact:
Amy Tapia
PO Box 5800
Albuquerque, NM 87185-1496
astapia@sandia.gov
505-284-5207