- Methods Question (Required)
Some of the distinctions traditionally drawn between media, communication, and computing technologies are becoming increasingly blurred, as we watch television on laptops, search and retrieve digital media from TV sets, surf the web on telephones, and read books on networked wireless devices. It seems that we produce, look for, organize, share, and consume information across a greater range of devices, platforms, systems, and environments than ever before.
A list of the questions that are raised by this proliferation of technological contexts for information-related activities might include the following: Is it still possible to construct a general taxonomy of information-related activities (i.e., one whose categories of activity are not specific to particular technologies)? Does the very concept of “information” remain useful as a way of thinking about our goals when we use these technologies? Is there scope for the design of a generic, cross-context strategy for evaluating the extent to which our information needs and desires are met when using these technologies?
Your task is to write a proposal for a research study on some aspect of the diversification of information-related activities noted above. Identify a research question (or several) about your chosen aspect and design a study that will allow you to answer your question(s). Among its parts, your proposal should include the following: a
demonstration of the significance of the research question; a review of previous relevant literature; a justification of your choice of design; an explanation of the data collection and analysis methods to be used; and a statement of the limitations of the design and of the study.
- Theory Question (Choose One)
The Soweto ’76 archive project (see http://www.soweto76archive.org/) provides online access to interviews, testimonials, photographs, and other documents relevant to the events of the 1976 uprising. The project developers are hoping to resolve a tension between (on the one hand) the archive’s commitment to maintaining strong connections with the source community, and (on the other) the desire to solicit contributions from (and, more generally, to serve) a broader public. What are the considerations (cultural, technological, political, etc.) that affect decision-making in the design of such an archive? Taking these considerations into account, what recommendations would you make for improvements in the design of the Soweto ’76 archive?
OR
“Open access” is gaining ground as a model for publishing, for access to scholarly documents, and for data. Yet the term open access has so many definitions that it has lost its meaning. Those strongly in favor and strongly opposed usually differ in what they view as basic concepts of open access.
What are those basic concepts? To what degree do they arise from areas such as the philosophy of science, from scholarly communication, from intellectual property law, or from economics? Pick two perspectives on open access such as these. Explain the debate about open access from each of your two chosen perspectives. Who are the stakeholders? What is at stake? Who is gaining ground and why?