1. Methods question (Required)

Online social-networking services such as Facebook and MySpace are used by millions around the world. Researchers have taken many different approaches to the study of users’ motivations and activities, and to the analysis of networks’ structures. Relatively few, however, have yet explored the use of social-networking services as information systems. Your task is to write a proposal for a research study on some specified aspect of the use of social-networking services by some specified group to produce, disseminate, look for, and/or obtain access to information of some specified kind.

Choose a social-networking service (or several services to compare); identify a research question (or several) about the use of your chosen service(s) as an information system; 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(s); a review of previous relevant literature; a justification of your choice of design; an explanation of the data collection and data analysis methods to be used; and a statement of the limitations of the design and of the study.

1. Theory Question (Choose 1)

Describe the ways in which social, cultural, technical, economic, political, and ecological factors shaped and are shaping various components of scholarly communication, and, discuss how cultural industries such as publishing are being influenced by these factors. You should define what you mean by the term "scholarly communication" and "cultural industries." Your answer may address each of the factors or focus on just one factor such as the influence of political regulations regarding copyright and intellectual property on the dissemination of knowledge. Discuss why the factor(s) you have chosen are important.

OR

The authenticity and authority of information (e.g., records, photographs, published materials, oral testimony, shared knowledge) have been of concern throughout the history of information production and use. They are of particularly immediate concern in the
information age when digital information can be easily created, disseminated and/or altered with the availability of inexpensive technological tools. Define what you mean by
"authenticity" and "authority" and address the following:

1) What are the main issues related to authenticity and authority in the production of information? As appropriate, select a type of material or information resource (e.g., children's books, reference materials, published research, official records, community websites) to support or illustrate your argument.

2) What are some of the ways in which authenticity and authority can be ascertained/ensured/guarded from an institutional perspective (e.g., by museums, libraries, archives, government, academic institutions) through two of the following means: policy, technology, and systems design, information structures/metadata, education, or other (please state) means?