Susan Morgan

Research

My approach to research and teaching is as a social scientist, primarily using quantitative (experimental, survey, and content analytic) and qualitative (interview, focus group, and thematic analytic) methods. My research largely focuses on the construction of persuasive messages to strengthen health communication campaigns. I use theory and formative research to tailor health messages to the specific needs of multicultural populations (especially African Americans) and youth. I focus both on message variables (such as figurative language) as well as on features of receivers that demand that messages be constructed in specific ways. The features of receivers that I examine are culture, sensation seeking, and figurative language processing ability. My secondary area of interest is intercultural communication. My research in intercultural communication heavily informs my research and teaching in health communication since it helps me understand how health-related messages should be tailored to particular groups. However, I also conduct research on intercultural interactions independently of my interest in health communication. I am interested in people's motivations for seeking out others who are culturally different from themselves, and I have been working toward building a theory of the motivations that affect intercultural communication behaviors.

I have served as co-Investigator on three grants totaling $4 million, and have received additional funding as Principal Investigator or Principal Researcher on four grants totaling over $4 million. I serve on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Applied Communication Research (and have been an active reviewer for ten other journals), serve as a scientific review panel member for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Health Services Resources Administration, and have served as research associate for four research centers in the areas of cancer control, injury prevention, health communication, and mass media effects.

Selected Grant-Funded Projects/Health Communication Publications

• 2007 – 2009: Co-Principal Investigator, “Show Us Your Heart Campaign,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation, $826,000. (Tyler R. Harrison, PI)
• 2006 – 2009:Principal Investigator, “The Drive for Life campaign and evaluation: The impact of just-in-time information, public education, and DMV clerk training on donor registrations and family notifications,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation, $1.05 million.
• 2004 – 2007: Evaluator/Principal Researcher, “The Life Share Project: A Multi-media and Grassroots Campaign to Promote African American Organ Donation.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation, $598,823.
• 2004 - 2007: Principal Investigator, "The Workplace Partnership for Life: A Replicable Worksite Campaign." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation, $1.67 million.
  
• 2003 - 2004: Principal Investigator, "Media Representations of Organ Donation and Transplantation: Heroes or Horrors?" U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation, $18,200.
  
• 2002 - 2005: Principal Investigator, "The University Worksite Organ Donation Promotion Campaign: Targeting Administrators, Faculty, Staff, and Students Using the Organ Donation Model." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation, $1.5 million.
  
• 1998 - 2003: Co-Investigator, "Effective Media Strategies for Drug Abuse Prevention." National Institute for Drug Abuse, $3.2 million. PI: Phillip Palmgreen.

Selected Publications

• Morgan, S. E., Movius, L., & Cody, M. (2009). The power of narratives: The effect of organ donation entertainment television storylines on the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of donors and non-donors. Journal of Communication, 58.
  
• Morgan, S. E. (2008). The intersection of conversation, cognitions, and campaigns: The social representation of organ donation. Communication Theory, 19, 29-48.
  
• Morgan, S. E., Stephenson, M. T., Harrison, T. R., Afifi, W. A., & Long, S. D., (2008). Facts versus “feelings”: How rational is the decision to become an organ donor? Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 644-658.
  
• Morgan, S. E., Harrison, T. R., Chewning, L. V., DiCorcia, M., & Davis, L. (2007). Entertainment (mis)education: The framing of organ donation in entertainment television. Health Communication, 22, 143-151.
  
• Morgan, S. E., Harrison, T.R., Afifi, W.A., Long, S.D., Stephenson, M.T., Reichert, T. (2005). Family discussions about organ donation: How the media is used to justify opinions and influence others about donation decisions. Clinical Transplantation, 19(5) 674-682.
  
• Morgan, S. E., Palmgreen, P., Stephenson, M., Hoyle, R., and Lorch, E. (2003). Associations between formal message features and subjective evaluations of the sensation value of anti-drug public service announcements. Journal of Communication,53(3) 1-15.
  
• Morgan, S. E., Miller, J., and Arasaratnam, L. A. (2002). Signing cards, saving lives: An evaluation of the Worksite Organ Donation Promotion Project. Communication Monographs, 69(3) 253-273.