Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director

School of Communication
The Ohio State University
3139 Derby Hall
154 North Oval Mall
Columbus, OH 43210-1339
Tel: (614) 247-6004
Fax: (614) 292-2055
eveland.6@osu.edu

B.A., University of Delaware
M.A., University of Delaware
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin

My teaching specialties are political communication, public opinion, uses and effects of mass communication, and research methods. I attempt to incorporate theories and research addressing both “old” and “new” communication technologies in my classes. I am particularly interested in the role of communication in learning in various domains, and so I have the opportunity to apply what I discover about learning in my research to the classes that I teach. For instance, one factor that facilitates learning from the news and political conversations is the extent to which individuals make connections between the new information to which they’re exposed and their own past experiences and prior knowledge (a process called “elaboration”). I apply this in my teaching by encouraging students — through assignments and classroom discussion — to apply the (sometimes) abstract ideas presented in readings and lecture to real world situations and personal experience.

My research attempts to understand the effects of communication as the result of the goals individuals bring to the communication experience and the cognitive processes in which they engage during communication. I am particularly interested in the differential influence of various modalities of communication on producing informed and participatory citizens, including effects of traditional media like television news and newspapers as well as the World Wide Web. I am also interested in how media use and discussion of politics work together to influence knowledge of political facts as well as the structure of cognition about politics. My research has also explored topics such as the role of communication in shaping political participation, perceptions of public opinion or social reality more generally, and beliefs about news media bias.

For more information about ths sort of research I do, you might want to view a list of some of my recent publications and presentations. Or, you may want to check out the Communication, Opinion, and Political Studies [COPS] blog, which details the work of many of the political communication and public opinion scholars in our School, including our graduate students. Or, read the All Things Media blog, which details the work in our School on mass communication processes and effects.

When I’m not in the office, I’m probably either playing with my two children or watching television -- current favorites are serialized dramas like Heroes, Jericho, and Lost. I also really enjoy the great outdoors and have had the good fortune hike in some very spectacular locations, including the Appalachian Trail in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia; the Rocky Mountains in Colorado; Arches, Zion, and Bryce Canyon National Parks in Utah; Lake Tahoe in Nevada; the Sierra Nevada, Santa Ynez, and San Raphael Mountains plus the Mojave Desert in California; and even Volcanoes National Park, Waimea Canyon, and the Na Pali Coastline in the Islands of Hawaii. When I finish hiking, I like to find a good microbrewery and sample a few hefeweizen beers.