A research program of the Davi Moreira Research Lab
SIGNAL studies how communication shapes markets, firms, public decisions, and opinion.
01 / THE PROGRAM
SIGNAL is a research program of the Davi Moreira Research Lab and an Interdisciplinary Research Generator of Purdue University's John Martinson Honors College for AY 2026–2028. It asks how the words that institutions, firms and people put on the public record shape what happens next, using regulatory comments, consumer complaints, corporate disclosures and health marketing claims.
Studies with human participants, such as the planned survey experiments, begin only after the required Purdue IRB review. Each project follows Purdue's research, data and custody requirements; institutional affiliation does not imply endorsement.
02 / RESEARCH
Each line is built on free public text.
Which issue frames actually get agencies and companies to respond, and does the framing that wins a response also move public trust? Students code public comments from Regulations.gov and consumer complaint narratives from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Does the wording of a corporate disclosure carry information beyond its facts? Students analyze SEC filings against short-window market returns and report association, not causation. A shared, preregistered survey experiment will test whether wording shifts perceived investment risk.
How do health and wellness marketing claims persuade? Students code the claims documented in FDA warning letters. A shared survey experiment will test whether claim wording changes perceived credibility and purchase intention when the product facts stay the same.
03 / METHOD
Every SIGNAL study passes five review gates: question, design, measurement, analysis and interpretation. Each study produces a codebook or event protocol, a reproducible notebook, a poster and a research note, and its results are presented at Purdue Office of Undergraduate Research and Honors College venues.
The method is taught in HONR 46400, Evidence-Driven Research, and in the open manual EDR|AI: Evidence-Driven Research in the Age of AI.
04 / PEOPLE
Director, SIGNAL · Davi Moreira Research Lab
Clinical Assistant Professor of Quantitative Methods, Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue University
Faculty affiliates and student researchers will be listed once each has confirmed and agreed to be featured.
05 / JOIN
SIGNAL works with ten to fifteen Purdue Honors students a year, from any major, who fulfill their John Martinson Honors College Scholarly Project by joining its research team.
The John Martinson Honors College will schedule SIGNAL callouts for Purdue Honors students. Stay tuned for the dates.