Research

Curriculum Vita: Dr. Robert McKeever https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5924-0514

(Click here for full CV)

Academic Appointments

• 08/2025-present: Professor with tenure, Department of Advertising & Public Relations, College of Communication & Information Sciences at the University of Alabama
• 08/2023-08/2025: Associate Professor with tenure, Department of Advertising & Public Relations, College of Communication & Information Sciences at the University of Alabama
• 08/2018–08/2023: Associate Professor with tenure, School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina
• 08/2013–08/2018: Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina
• 01/2022-08/2022: Associate Dean for Research, College of Information and Communications at the University of South Carolina
• 08/2015–08/2023: Director, Science and Health Communication Research Group at the University of South Carolina.
• 08/2012–12/2012: Adjunct Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina
• 07/2012–07/2013: Research Associate, Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina
• 08/2009–2012: Roy H. Park Doctoral Fellow, School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina

Education

• 2009–2012: Ph.D., Mass Communication, School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 2006–2008: M.A., Communication and Leadership Studies. Gonzaga University, School of Professional Studies
• 2005: B.A., Political Science, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 2005: Certificate, European Union Studies, The Center for European Studies (CES) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Refereed Publications (Selected)

Note: Asterisk (*) indicates a student collaborator at time the research was conducted.

1. McKeever, R., Sundstrom, B., Rhodes, M. E., *Ritter, E., & McKeever, B. (2025). “A victim of our own success:” Testing Jenny’s First Sleepover’s dark satire to improve attitudes toward childhood vaccination. Health Communication, 40(1) 27-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2330121
2. Pressgrove, G., McKeever, R. McKeever, B., Waters, R. (2024). Investigating membership retention: Employing public relations theory to better understand relationship management. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 36(1) 1-21,  https://doi.org/10.1080/10495142.2022.2130497
3. McKeever, B. W., McKeever, R., Choi, M., & Huang, S. (2023). From advocacy to activism: a multi-dimensional scale of communicative, collective, and combative behaviors. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 100(3), 569-594. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990231161035  
4. Waddell, T.F., Overton, H., & McKeever, R. (2022). Does sample source matter for theory? Testing model invariance with the influence of presumed influence model across Amazon Mechanical Turk and Qualtrics Panels. Computers in Human Behavior, 137, 107416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107416
5. McKeever, B.W., *Choi, M., *Walker, D., & McKeever, R. (2022). Gun violence as a public health issue: Media advocacy, framing and implications for communication. Newspaper Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/07395329221090497
6. Pressgrove, G.N., McKeever, R., & Collins, E.L. (2021). Effectiveness of persuasive frames in advocacy videos. Public Relations Review. 47(4), 102060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102060
7. Li, J.Y., Wen, T.J., McKeever, R., & *Kim, J.K. (2021). Uncertainty and negative emotions in parental decision–making on childhood vaccinations: Extending the theory of planned behavior to the context of conflicting health information. Journal of Health Communication, 26 (4), 215–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2021.1913677
8. Rhodes, M. E., Sundstrom, B., *Ritter, E., McKeever, B. W., & McKeever, R. (2021). Preparing for A COVID–19 Vaccine: A Mixed Methods Study of Vaccine Hesitant Parents. Journal of Health Communication, 25(10), 831–837. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2021.1871986
9. Karami, A., *Lundy, M., *Webb, F., Turner–McGrievy, G., McKeever, B. W., & McKeever, R. (2021). Identifying and Analyzing Health–Related Themes in Disinformation Shared by Conservative and Liberal Russian Trolls on Twitter. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 2159. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042159
   
10. Jones-Jang, S. M., *Heo, Y., McKeever, R., Kim, J., Moscowitz, L., & Moscowitz, D. (2020). Good news! Communication findings may be underestimated: Comparing effect sizes with self-reported and logged smartphone data, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 25(5), 346-363. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmaa009
11. Li, J., Wen, T. J., Kim, J. & McKeever, R. (2020). Applying the theory of motivated information management to the context of conflicting online health information: Implications for childhood vaccination communication with parents. International Journal of Strategic Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2020.1817030
12. McKeever, B.W., McKeever, R. Pressgrove, G.N., & Overton, H.K. (2019). Predicting Public Support: Applying Theory to Prosocial Behaviors. Journal of Communication Management, 23(4), 298–315, https://doi.org/10.1108/jcom-02-2019-0030
13. Jang, S. M., McKeever, B. W., McKeever, R., & Kim, J. K.* (2019). From Social Media to Mainstream News: The Information Flow of the Vaccine-Autism Controversy in the US, Canada, and the UK. Health Communication, 34(1), 110-117.  DOI:10.1080/10410236.2017.1384433
14. *Choi, M., Overton, H. K. & McKeever, R. (2018). When Organizational Advocacy and Public Advocacy Intersect in CSR: Examining Stage of Partnership and Activism in CSR Partnerships. Journal of Public Interest Communications. 2(2), 264-288. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.32473/jpic.v2.i2.p264
15. *Bergeron, C.D., Friedman, D.B., Spencer, S.M., Messias, D.K., Miller, S.C., & McKeever, R. (2018). An Exploratory Survey of Older Women’s Post-Fall Decisions. Journal of Applied Gerontology. 37(9). 1107-1132. DOI: 10.1177/0733464816653361
16. McKeever, R., McKeever, B.W., & Li, J-Y. * (2017). Speaking up Online Exploring Hostile Media Perception, Health Behavior, and Other Antecedents of Communication. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 94(3), 812-832. DOI:10.1177/1077699016670121
17. Pardun, C.J., McKeever, R., & Bedingfield, S. (2017). Smoke Gets in Their Eyes? Third-Person Effects of Electronic Cigarette Advertising. Journal of Promotion Management, 23(5), 708-726. DOI:10.1080/10496491.2017.1297980
18. McKeever, R., & McKeever, B.W. (2017). Moms and media: Exploring the effects of online communication on infant feeding practices. Health Communication.  32(9) 1059-1065. DOI:10.1080/10410236.2016.1196638
19. Kim, H., McKeever, R., Chang, J-H., & Ha, J-Y. (2017). Factors Influencing Risk Perception of Nuclear Technology: A Pilot Study of Comparing College Students in the U.S. and South Korea, Asian Communication Research. 14 (1), 36 – 62. DOI: 10.20879/acr.2017.14.1.36
20. Holman, L., & McKeever, R. (2017). Andrea Yates Effect: Priming Mental Illness Stereotypes Through Exemplification of Postpartum Disorders. Health Communication. 32(10) 1283-1285 DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2016.1219929
21. Cho, Y. J., Thrasher, J., Swayampakala, K., Yong, H-H., McKeever, R., Hammond, D., . . . Borland, R. (2016). Does Reactance against Cigarette Warning Labels Matter? Warning Label Responses and Downstream Smoking Cessation amongst Adult Smokers in Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United States. PLoS ONE, 11(7), 1-16. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159245
22. Kim, H., McKeever, R., Chang, J‐H., & Ha, J‐Y. (2017). Factual or perceived? Comparing two dimensions of scientific knowledge in the U.S. and South Korea. Health & New Media Research, 1(3), 168‐188.
23. McKeever, B.W., McKeever, R., Holton, A., & *Li, J-Y. (2016). Silent majority: Childhood vaccinations and antecedents to communicative action. Mass Communication and Society, 19, 476-498. DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2016.1148172
24. McKeever, B.W., Pressgrove, G.N., McKeever, R., & *Zheng, Y. (2016). Toward a Theory of Situational Support: Combining the Situational Theory of Publics and the Theory of Reasoned Action to Explore Organizational Support. Public Relations Review. 42, 219-222 DOI: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.09.009
25. McKeever, R. (2015). Vicarious experience: experimentally testing the effects of empathy for media characters with severe depression and the intervening role of perceived similarity. Health Communication, 30, 1122 – 1134. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2014.921969
26. Pardun, C.J., McKeever, R., Pressgrove, G.N., & McKeever, B.W. (2015). Colleagues in Training:  How Senior Faculty View Doctoral Education. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 70, 354-366,DOI: 10.1177/1077695815599471
27. McKeever, R. (2014). Thinking outside the Medicine Cabinet: A Quantitative Content Analysis of Internet DTC Advertisements for Prescription Drugs. Health Marketing Quarterly, 31, 353-369, DOI: 10.1080/07359683.2014.966007
28. Phillips, L., Riffe, D., & McKeever, R. (2014) Seeking Environmental Risk Online: Examining North Carolina’s Urban-Rural Divide. Web Journal of Mass Communication Research, 47, 1-12 Full Text
    
29. Basilaia, E., McKeever, R., & Shaw, D. (2013). The natural framing of military conflict news. The 2008 war in Georgia in Resonance, Izvestia and The New York Times. Central European Journal of Communication, 6(1), 16-32.
30. Listokin, S., & McKeever, R. (2011).  American Political Science Association Teaching and Learning Track Summaries — Track Two: Graduate Education and Professional Development. PS: Political Science & Politics, 44(3), 658-659.
31. Shaw, D., Tran, H., McCombs, M., & McKeever, R. (2010). Imagining Community: Media    Agenda Setting, Social Melding, and Mediamorphossis, a Meta-Analysis [Electronic version]. In E. Yüksel (Ed.), 8th International Symposium: Communication in the millennium (pp. 3-18). Eskişehir, Turkey: Anadolu University.
32. Weaver, D., Wojdynski, B., McKeever, R., & Shaw, D. (2010, May). Vertical and or versus? Horizontal communities: Need for orientation, media use and agenda melding. In Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the World Association for Public Opinion Research, Chicago, IL. Full Text

Research Support (Funded)

• 2022: Principal Investigator, Colorectal Cancer Prevention Network (CCPN).  (With Co–Is: Jun, J., Kim, J.K., Wikersham, K., Robertson, B., Noland, C., & *Ciccarelli, C.). $19,915. Funded, April 2022.
• 2020: Co-Principal Investigator, University of South Carolina Office of Research (with PI: Mohammadi, E. & Co-PI: McKeever, B.W). $24,483, Funded 2020-2021
• 2019: Co-Principal Investigator, University of South Carolina College of Information and Communications (with PI: Karimi, A., & Co-PIs: McKeever, B.W., & Turner-McGrievy, B.). $10,000. Funded, June 2019.
• 2019: Co-Principal Investigator, Arthur W. Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant for Advocacy Communication (with Co-PIs: McKeever, B.W., & *Choi, M.). $5,000. Funded, April 2019.
• 2017: Principal Investigator, College of Information and Communications Internal Research Grant for Fake News (with Co-PIs Joon Kim (Ph.D. Student) and Dr. Susan Rathbun-Grubb). Experimentally parsing the effects of fake news. $5,000. Funded February, 2017.
• 2018~2019: Co-Principal Investigator, University of South Carolina Provost Internal Grant (with Lead PI Dr. Jing “Taylor” Wen). Combating Misinformation on Childhood Vaccination: Empowering Parents to Manage Conflicting Health Information Online, $16,768. Funded July, 2018.
• 2014~2015: Co-Investigator, John S. and James L Knight Foundation  (with Lead PI Dr. Andrea Tanner, Co-PI Dr. Daniela Friedman). From Health Coverage to Care: Developing an evidence-based Affordable Care Act education and health literacy program tailored to Richland County residents. Funded: $74,000

Top Paper Awards

1. Outstanding Article of the Year Award (2023). Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. {Link]
2. Top Theory Paper Award (2019). Communication Theory and Methodology Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, AEJMC Toronto, Canada.
3. Top Faculty Research Paper Award (2013). Mass Communication and Society Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, AEJMC Washington, DC.
4. Second Place (Graduate Student) Research Paper Award  (2011). Graduate Education Interest Group, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, AEJMC St. Louis

Conference Presentations

Discipline(s): Mass Communication and Media Effects

• Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC): 2011(2), 2012(2), 2013(2), 2014(2), 2015(3), 2016(1), 2017(2), 2018(4); 2019(4), 2020(1), 2021(1), 2022(1), 2023(1); 2025 (1)
• International Communication Association (ICA):  2015(1), 2016(2), 2017(1), 2020(1), 2022(1);
• International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR): 2012(1);
• National Communication Association (NCA): 2015(1);
• Public Relations Society of America (PRSA): 2019(1), 2020(1);
• AEJMC Southeast Colloquium (AEJMC regional): 2011(1), 2018(1), 2019(1), 2020(1);

Discipline(s): Public Health and Health Communication

• CDC National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media 2016(1);
• International Meeting for Autism Research 2014 (1)
• Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 2017 (2)
• Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 2016 (1)

Discipline(s): Political Science and Public Opinion Research

• American Political Science Association (APSA): 2008(1), 2011(1);
• World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR): 2010(1);
• Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research (MAPOR): 2011(1); 2018(1), 2019(1);

Teaching Experience and Awards

Teaching Support (Funded)

• 2017: Principal Investigator, School of Journalism and Mass Communications Online Teaching Development Grant. Course: J10: Media and Society. $2,500. Funded June, 2017.
• 2017-2018: Co-Principal Investigator,  University of South Carolina Visiting Scholars Grant, (with Lead PI, Karen Mallia). $3,525. Funded August, 2017.

Student advising and mentoring

Master’s Theses/Ph.D. Dissertations (Committee Chair)

• Mark Tatge, Ph.D. candidate (Defended, Fall, 2017)
• James Corfield, M.A. (Defended Spring, 2017)
• Jane Weatherred, Ph.D. (Defended, Spring, 2019)
• Nanlan Zhang, Ph.D. (Defended, Spring 2021)
• Yu-Jin Heo, Ph.D. Student (Defended, 2023)
• Carl Ciccarelli, Ph.D. Student (Defended, 2023)
• Shamira McCray, M.A. Student (Defended, 2023)

Graduate Thesis/Dissertation Committees

• Max Bretscher, M.A. student (Defended Spring, 2021)
• Matthew Stilwell Ph.D. Student (Defended, Summer, 2023)
• Chris Noland Ph.D. Candidate (Defended Spring, 2021)
• Khadija Ejaz, Ph.D. Student (Spring, 2019)
• Jo- Yun “Queenie” Li, D. Candidate (Spring, 2018)
• Anan Wan, Ph.D., Candidate (Spring, 2019)
• George Shaw [SLIS], Ph.D. Candidate (Spring, 2018)
• Won-Ki Moon M.A. (Spring 2018)
• Joon Kyoung Kim, Ph.D. (Spring, 2020)
• Nino Daniela, Ph.D. Candidate (NC)
• Alex Luchsinger, Ph.D. (Defended, Spring, 2017)
• Hwalbin Kim, Ph.D. (Defended, Spring, 2017)
• Nanlan Zhang, M.A. (Defended, Spring 2016)
• Maia Mikashavidze, Ph.D. (Defended, Spring, 2014)

Course Instructor, University of Alabama: 

Graduate Courses

• CIS 681: Advanced Quantitative Research Methods
• CIS 610: Foundations of Doctoral Study
• CIS 604: Mass Communication Theory
• APR 552: Quantitative Research Methods

Undergraduate Course

• APR 454: Consumer Psychology

Course Instructor, University of South Carolina:

Graduate Courses

• JOUR 807: Advanced Communication Research Methods (2016, 2017, & 2022).
• JOUR 801: Seminar in Research Methods (2019 & 2020)
• JOUR 790: Experimental Methods in Mass Communication (Summer, 2016).
• JOUR 772: Seminar in Science and Health Communication (Spring, 2016).
• JOUR 803: Seminar in Mass Comm. Theory & Theory Construction (2014, 2015, & 2021).
• JOUR 702: Communication Theory (2014, 2015, & 2021)

Undergraduate Courses

• JOUR 332: Mass Communications Research
• JOUR 599/499: Viva Cuba! Media, Communication and Culture
• JOUR 101 Media and Society
• JOUR 201: Survey of Mass Communications
• JOUR 304: Mass Communications Research Methods
• JOUR 306: Theories of Mass Communication
• JOUR 515:  Mass Communication Capstone

Professional Associations

• Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
• International Communication Association (ICA)
• National Communication Association (NCA)