Research
Research Program Overview
My research and scholarly activity focuses on the study of human information behavior. The overall purpose of this research is to develop a deeper understanding of how people need, seek and use information in their professional and everyday lives. Ultimately the new knowledge generated by this research is used to inform the development or enhancement of resources, services and technologies that facilitate information access and use. Please see my CV for projects earlier than 2000.
My research and scholarly work features:
- Significant research problems
- Clearly articulated research questions or objectives
- Contemporary theoretical and conceptual frameworks
- Creative, valid and reliable methods
- Findings, conclusions and recommendations that link to professional practice, service and system design, or methodological enhancement
The theoretical underpinning for my research program has consistently been the user-oriented paradigm.
Over the years, my research program has included human information behavior studies that:
- Expound contemporary theoretical and methodological frameworks—-the user-oriented paradigm, the cognitive viewpoint in information science;
- explore and elaborate key concepts and processes—-relevance, satisfaction, information infrastructure, collaborative information retrieval, information literacy, personal information management, information usings, personal information collection, personal anticipated information need, and interdisciplinarity; and
- examine the impact of information technology on information seeking and use in the workplace and community—the Internet and academic work, statewide database licensing.
Research Awards
UMI ASIS Doctoral Dissertation Award
American Library Association Tribute Resolution, Annual Conference, Chicago, June 2017
Funded Projects
Bill and Mellinda Gates Foundation — Global Libraries ($1,437,500) 2016-2026: Distinguished Practioner in Residence.
National Science Foundation— Information & Intelligent Systems ($24,484) 2010-2011: “Workshop: 2011 iConference Doctoral Research Colloquium”
National Science Foundation – Intelligent Information Systems – Collaborative Systems ($605,000) 2006-2009: “Structuring Personal Information Collections
Microsoft ($75,000) 2005-2006: “The Encarta Project”
National Science Foundation - Information and Data Management ($428,389) 2001, 2002, 2003: "Keeping Found Things Found" Supplementary award ($70,000), 2004-2005
National Science Foundation – Information and Data Management ($34,361) 2004, 2005: "Sponsored workshop on personal information management"
National Science Foundation - Information and Data Management ($246,208) 2003: "Information Retrieval and Databases: Synergies and Syntheses" – PI workshop, Seattle, September 2003.
Institute for Museum and Library Services ($212,023) 2003, 2004, 2005: "Project Athena: Spinning the Web of our Future"
Institute for Museum and Library Services ($74,801) 2005, 2006: "Extending the Web"
National Science Foundation - Computation and Social Systems ($444,947) 1999, 2000, 2001: "Collaborative Information Retrieval"
Washington State Library ($7,995) 2000: "Information Literacy Project"
Washington State Library ($19,568) 1999: "Statewide Database Licensing User Study"