Discuss the findings of a study that utilized BIG data, economic theory and a social media intervention aimed to improve nutritional behavior of college students. Millions of data points were collected to provide insight into daily food choice through a centralized Point-of-Sale system (32-weeks of daily meals purchased for over 3,700 emerging adults). This data then informed a 12-week intervention measuring the efficacy of FB, Instagram, SnapChat, and Slingshot to influence eating behaviors.

1. BIG DATA SOCIAL MEDIA ECONOMICS
NUTRITIONAL CHANGE

2. Moderator and Research Team
Josie Ahlquist, PhD (ABD)
Moderator, Consultant & Social Media Educator
Greg Heiberger, Ph.D.
Principle Investigator
Undergraduate Program Manager, SDSU
Lacey McCormack, Ph.D., MPH, RD, LN, HFS
Co-Investigator
Assistant Professor, SDSU
Kuo-Liang (Matt) Chang, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
Assistant Professor, SDSU

3. Discussion Format
Discussion and analysis
32-week research project which collected
millions of data points regarding nutritional
purchase
12-week social media intervention with 450
emerging adults aimed to affect nutritional
choice
Analysis through the tools and lens of
each researcher

4. The lenses through which the
research team members see the
world

5. @greg_heiberg
er

6. Lacey
McCormack

7. Matt Chang

8. Research Study
32-weeks collecting BIG nutritional data
Focus groups informing a:
12-week nutritional change intervention
Analysis
Nutritional
Economic
Social media efficacy

9. BIG Data
Who & What
3,700 students purchase data for 32-weeks.
Millions of data points collected. Millions of
dollars spent.
Where
Every on-campus point of sale for prepared food
When
Fall 2014 – Spring 2015
Why
Set a baseline for current nutritional purchase
(via caloric intake, USDA food grouping, etc.)

10. Econ Analysis
AIDS Model

11. Nutritional Data match
All menu items will be matched
nutritionally to the student
USDA
Caloric intake

12. 12-week intervention

13. Recruitment of Participants
450 students recruited Fall 2014
Pre-data collected (BMI, weight,
questionnaire = $25 incentive)
Post-data (BMI, weight,
questionnaire = $25 incentive)

14. Recruitment of Participants
75 assigned to each group
75% engagement = $50 incentive
Engagement = follow and engage
with assigned medium

15. Experimental Design &
Group Assignment

16. 12-week intervention
2 nutrition messages delivered per week
(specific to campus dining locations)
To receive a $50 incentive participants
must respond to 75% of the messages:
Instagram group must like
SnapChat group must view
Slingshot group must SnapBack their most
recent meal
Facebook group must like
Face-to-face group must attend in person
Control group – no enrollment or action

17. Example

18. Social media purposefully chosen for
this study for graduated levels of
engagement
Facebook = Baseline (many nutrition
educators and dining facilities use it)
Instagram = passive (only have to “like”)
SnapChat = moderate engagement (must
watch before it dissappears FOREVER)
SlingBox = high engagement (must sling-back
photo so see our message)
Face-to-face = traditional education medium
Control = gotta have it for strong research
design ;-)

19. Analysis
Engagement level with medium
Efficacy of each medium
Maximum payoff for administrators of social
media accounts
Nutritional Change pre-, during, post- study
Economic Theory Application (AIDS Model)

20. Team Bio’s

21. Greg Heiberger, Ph.D.
Dr. Heiberger is an engaged and analytical leader in the research,
design and implementation of emerging technologies into the higher
education learning environment. He has 10 years of experience in higher
education - spanning university administration, teaching and research in
both academic and student affairs. He has won numerous awards from his
peers and students for his rigorous and engaging teaching and advising.
Dr. Heiberger was also recently names an HHMI & National Academies of
Sciences Education Fellow.
Greg’s research-to-practice approach has spanned projects
including one of the first studies examining Facebook and student
involvement theory, Twitter’s impact on college student engagement and
more recent research analyzing the impacts of social media in micro-aggressions
with under-represented students and the impacts of iPads in
collaborative learning environments. He is at the forefront of researching
the impact of new technology and social media in emerging adulthood.

22. Lacey McCormack, Ph.D.,
MPH, RD, LN, HFS
Dr. McCormack has a background in public health nutrition and
holds a PhD in nutrition from South Dakota State University. In addition,
she is a licensed, Registered Dietitian and an American College of Sports
Medicine certified Health/Fitness Specialist. She has spent over 10 years
in research, spanning a variety of positions and responsibilities, building a
solid understanding of how to design, conduct and disseminate research.
She has worked on an observational study that’s followed over 1,200 rural
individuals in South Dakota for almost 10 years and directed the
implementation of the multi-state, multi-million dollar NIH funded research
study. She has played a role in multiple cross-sectional and behavioral
intervention studies and has experience crafting study designs, securing
funding and collecting, managing, analyzing and publishing data. Her
nutrition expertise and research background positions her well for
overseeing nutrition-related aspects of this project (including social media
messaging) and in study design and analysis.

23. Kuo-Liang (Matt)
Chang, Ph.D.
Dr. Kuo-Liang “Matt” Chang holds a Ph.D. in Economics from
University of Utah. His expertise is in the areas of consumer
economics and value identification, with an emphasis on
agricultural products that contribute to the profits and
sustainability of regional economy and local community. Dr.
Chang’s background is very relevant to this project because
much of the research he has conducted has involved with
research methods that examine consumers’ behavior and
producers’ price strategies. He is also very interested in studies
of how financial incentives affect consumers’ behavioral towards
unhealthy consumption such as tobacco, betel, and alcohol.

24. Josie Ahlquist, Ph.D. (ABD)
Josie Ahlquist is a doctoral candidate at California Lutheran University in
the Higher Education Leadership program. She is an emerging scholar on
social media in education, exploring how leadership and social media are
intertwined. She blogs weekly at www.josieahlquist.com, connecting scholarly
research to best practices for students and educational leaders. She received
her Masters in Education from Northern Arizona University and majored in
sociology and human development at South Dakota State University.
She has over a decade in Higher Education including areas of student
activities, campus recreation, student unions, residence life, judicial affairs,
student leadership and new student orientation. As a speaker she has trained
thousands of student leaders, recently providing a digital remix on how
to develop digital student leaders of the 21st century.
She is a co-author in the Handbook of Student
Affairs Administration textbook, writing the chapter on Computer-Mediated
Communication and Social Media and is published in The Journal of
Leadership Studies, exploring Digital Leadership Education using Social Media
and the Social Change Model.

25. Resources
Support for this project was provided by
the Sanford Health – SDSU
Collaborative Research program and by
the SD Board of Regents R&D
Innovation program.
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