Date
8-24-2023
Department
School of Communication and the Arts
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Communication (PhD)
Chair
Jessica Ptomey
Keywords
crisis communication, COVID-19, social media, uncertainty reduction, HBCUs
Disciplines
Communication
Recommended Citation
Armstrong, Kelsey Anne-Gabrielle, "A Case Study On How HBCUs Use Social Media To Reduce Uncertainty Of COVID-19" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4705.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4705
Abstract
This case study aims to understand how HBCUs use social media to deliver crisis communication messages to students about COVID-19 and how the HBCU culture impacts student perspectives. The theory guiding this study is uncertainty reduction theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1974), as it explains the communication strategies used to reduce uncertainty during a crisis. Data collection was conducted using semi-structured interviews and content analysis. Data analysis strategies included deductive and inductive coding and directed content analysis. The study results provide insight into how the HBCU culture impacts the perspective of an HBCUs response to COVID-19 and overall crisis communication messaging from a university.
