An Invitation to Communication Researchers
Study Real Beliefs, Real Questions, Real Dialogue
TrueTalk is an open platform where people publicly post beliefs, ask genuine questions about one another’s views, and engage in structured, civil dialogue across difference.
We invite communication researchers, social scientists, psychologists, linguists, and interdisciplinary scholars to explore TrueTalk as a living laboratory for studying how humans communicate when beliefs – not identities or affiliations – are placed at the center.
Why TrueTalk Is Unique for Research
Most online communication environments reward persuasion, signaling, or group loyalty. TrueTalk is designed differently:
- Participants begin by stating a belief, not an argument
- Others respond with questions, not rebuttals
- Answers emphasize explanation, meaning, and experience rather than winning
- Interaction is visible, archived, and structured over time
This creates a rare dataset of belief-driven communication that is difficult to observe elsewhere.
Research Questions You Might Explore
TrueTalk supports research across many domains, including but not limited to:
Beliefs & Meaning
- How people articulate deeply held beliefs in public
- Differences between belief expression and opinion expression
- How belief framing changes over time through questioning
Questioning Behavior
- What kinds of questions foster understanding versus defensiveness
- Linguistic patterns in curiosity-driven vs adversarial questions
- The role of good questions in belief clarification
Dialogue & Interaction
- How structured dialogue affects polarization
- Turn-taking, tone shifts, and trust formation
- When and why conversations deepen – or stall
Social & Cognitive Dynamics
- Empathy development through belief-centered dialogue
- Identity salience vs belief salience
- Cognitive flexibility and openness indicators
Platform Design & Communication Outcomes
- How design constraints shape communication quality
- Effects of visibility, persistence, and audience awareness
- Recognition, norms, and emergent community behavior
Data & Collaboration Possibilities
Depending on your research needs and ethics approval, collaboration may include:
- Access to anonymized belief–question–answer datasets
- Longitudinal studies of belief evolution
- Experimental features (with consent) to study communication effects
- Co-designed studies aligned with your research goals
- Joint publications or conference presentations
We are especially interested in researcher-led study design rather than predefined conclusions.
Ethics, Transparency, and Respect
TrueTalk is committed to:
- Ethical research standards and informed consent
- Privacy-respecting data access
- Transparency about research intent
- Avoiding manipulation, persuasion experiments, or covert interventions
Our goal is to study understanding, not engineer outcomes.
Who We Hope to Work With
We welcome interest from:
- University researchers and graduate students
- Independent scholars
- Research labs focused on communication, dialogue, or social cognition
- Interdisciplinary teams bridging technology and humanities
Early-stage, exploratory, and unconventional research ideas are encouraged.
Start a Conversation
If you are interested in studying belief-centered communication in a real-world environment, we would like to hear from you.