Doctoral candidate Qiuyan Guo has received a 2022 Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from Beta Phi Mu, the international library and information studies honor society. Beta Phi Mu awarded six fellowships, valued at $3,000 each, to doctoral students who are working on their dissertations in LIS, information studies, informatics, or a related field. Guo received the fellowship for her dissertation, "Exploring Chinese Celebrity Fans' Online Information Behaviors and Understandings of Their Fandom."
"My dissertation focuses on understanding the interaction between how fans interpret different aspects of a celebrity and how they engage in online information activities in a contemporary Chinese sociocultural context," said Guo. "Situated in information and media research fields, the project draws on theories of participatory culture as well as information sense-making, seeking, creating, and sharing behaviors. I hope this research in general could contribute to connecting LIS principles to understand the consumption and production of media in broader society."
Guo's research interests include information literacy and readership, fandom, and the information behavior of fans active in online communities.