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Read my statement of research interests
General Research Goal
In my research, I explore the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in the social lives of individuals and communities. Over the past decades, ICT use has moved from being a largely peripheral activity, important to a few but less relevant at a societal level, to become an increasingly central part of the everyday social experience. Whereas technology was once primarily a tool for performing tasks, today it plays a broader role by enabling new forms of expression and building new venues for interaction. I am interested in understanding how ICT can be designed to best support and enhance these new social experiences.
At a broad level, my research interests intersect many subdisciplines of computer and information science, including:
* Online communities
* Human-computer interaction (HCI)
* Computer-mediated communication (CMC)
* Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW)
* Socio-technical systems (STS)
* Design science
Current Research Projects
DESIGNING DEEPLY ENGAGING ONLINE COMMUNITIES FOR ADOLESCENTS
My work in this area began with my dissertation research, where I investigated the design factors that motivated adolescents in an online community (Fieldtrip) to meaningfully reflect upon, and engage one another, around issues they identified as affecting their motivation toward learning and education. My research included the evaluation of an iterative redesign of this community and resulted in guidelines for designers of adolescent online communities on how to create deeply engaging online communities for adolescents that support the cognitive and psychosocial developmental needs of their members.
Over 115 adolescents participated across the two versions of the Fieldtrip online community. A future version is planned that expands the scope of the community to address concerns of substance abuse, enabling research into how online communities can be designed to support adolescents in working together to co-create knowledge (”wiki-wisdom”l) and culture around drug awareness.
For more about Fieldtrip, check out the Fieldtrip blog: Using Internet-based Multimedia to Engage Teens on Education Issues.
TRANSFORMING THE WORKPLACE BY REALIZING PERSONAL ONLINE NETWORKS
In as much as effectively designed online communities can lead to deep engagement, their utility as a communication tool will be fully realized when they are incorporated into work settings. A hallmark of online communication is that it transcends physical location. However, while increasing attention has been given to the communication that extends from employees to their social contacts outside of the organization, much of this attention has been critical of this practice. Organizational theorists frequently cite the negative consequences from uncontrolled and unfettered communication, and often recommend the establishment of bariers between work and consumer communication.
Nonetheless, for many, ICT has enabled a pervasive social experience that extends beyond traditional organizational boundaries. Particularly for younger generations entering the workforce, work-related questions are routinely asked and answered among online networks of close friends. Under such thinking, the productivity of an employee is impacted by the extent of the relationships they have, many of which exist outside of their workplace. This challenges the assumption that creating barriers is the most effective managerial strategy and instead raises the question, “how does a manager manage this new paradigm?”
MANAGING ONLINE IDENTITY
Identity
management has long been a concern for designers of online communities,
seeking to augment the social interaction in their communities by enabling
users to develop expressive and persistent identities. Recently, the
advent and increasing popularity of social networking applications have
reemphasized the importance of identity by highlighting the online profile
as a primary mechanism for user representation.
There are nearly as many designs for the online profile as there are online communities. These differences in design go beyond just site branding and visual layout. Features vary between profiles, as does the basis of their construction - from system-generated attributes, to community feedback, to aspects that are self-constructed. Cultural trends further complicate the practice of identity management. Online profiles are transient as users migrate from site to site. It is also common for users to maintain a presence simultaneously within many online communities. In short, an online profile is not some monolithic system, but rather exists as an element within a user's web of identities.
To advance the design of online profiles requires building an understanding of the patterns and practices of how users navigate and manage multiple points of online presence. Specifically, I am interested in exploring what social practices are modified or established, as the activities of identity management become diffused across a network of profiles; in particular, how does this alter the perception of a user's identity, and how might this impact the way that communities are designed to support identity management?