Study level

  • PhD
  • Master of Philosophy
  • Honours

Faculty/School

Faculty of Engineering

School of Architecture and Built Environment

Topic status

We're looking for students to study this topic.

Research centre

Supervisors

Professor Tan Yigitcanlar
Position
Professor
Division / Faculty
Faculty of Engineering

External supervisors

  • Sajani Senadheera

Overview

As social media becomes more intertwined into our daily lives, having an online presence on social media has become common not just in the private but also in the public sectors. The use of social media in local governments has shown great potential in terms of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of citizen-government communication. It has also been effective in terms of increasing citizen engagement and participation. Therefore, this research project seeks to discover how do local governments leverage the use of social media for better communication. Project aims to deliver insights and suggestions on the role of social media to strengthen the relationship between local governments and their constituents.

Reference

Kankanamge, N., Yigitcanlar, T., & Goonetilleke, A., (2020). How engaging are disaster management related social media channels? The case of Australian state emergency organisations. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 48(1), 101571; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101571.

Research activities

This research project aims to provide understanding on how Australian local governments have been utilising social media for public communication. It would investigate the purpose of usage, benefits, challenges, trends, and suggestions by conducting a comparison between the four case study cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.

Under this research arena, following are few tasks that you may requested to undertake:

  • content analysis on social media platforms
  • data collection using web scraping tools
  • report/academic writing, and poster presentation.

Outcomes

Expected outcomes of this project includes:

  • insights into social media usage in Australian local governments for public communication and service delivery
  • exposure to social media analytics, strategies, and community behaviour changes related to social media adoption
  • dissemination of study findings via academic, professional, and internet media channels, as well an opening to an early research experience
  • a brief report on social media usage in Australian local governments.

Skills and experience

It is preferred that you are skilled in:

  • critical and analytical ability
  • problem solving skills
  • strong communication and effective writing skills
  • background education or research experience on urban planning, town and country planning, social sciences, government studies or information and technology management.

Keywords

Contact

Contact the supervisor for more information.