Diary

Internal Reports

Completed Papers

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Site Visit and Quarterly Reports

Main DLI Page

Web Client- DeLIver

Social Science Research- Social Science Team

Quarterly Report/ Year- end summary

(work from November through January, 1995)

Major Activities

The evaluation team is led by Ann Bishop, supported by graduate students in sociology and library science. Our focus in 1995 was on needs assessment and developing programs needed for instrumenting the DLI testbed. In 1996, with the prototype available, we will conduct a number of use and usability studies of the testbed. Our sociological investigations related to the changing nature of information infrastructure figure strongly throughout 1995 and 1996.Most Significant Accomplishments include:--Conducted focus groups with faculty, grads, and undergrads in Computer Science, Engineering, and Physics to gather data on user needs for the DLI (Jan. 1995)--Conducted usability tests for the online thesaurus developed as a potential component of the DLI (March 1995)--Observed users of current online library systems in the Grainger Library to gather data on user needs and capabilities regarding electronic information services (June-Aug. 1995)--Conducted NSF-sponsored Allerton Institute on "How We Do User-Centered Design and Evaluation for Digital Libraries: A Methodological Forum," which attracted over 50 top academic, industry, and government researchers from five countries (Oct. 1995)--Developed plan for instrumenting Mosaic and the DLI testbed, in preparation for automatically collecting data on individual and aggregate use (throughout 1995)--Developed registration program to collect basic data from all DLI users and assure authorized access to the testbed (throughout 1995)

Research Plans

Since the Testbed will now be operational throughout the entire period, we will conduct in-depth study of research groups representing primary users of the DLI testbed. We will investigate nature of work and collaboration, use of information, and DLI testbed usability and use in Physics/Astronomy and at least one other discipline. Each research group will be studied for about 3 months, with the Physics/Astronomy group receiving primary attention in Jan.-March 1996. At the same time, we will develop programs for collecting instrumentation data, then collect and analyze user registration and system instrumentation data from the current custom client Testbed usage. Online DLI user surveys will be conducted, periodically throughout the year. Finally, we plan another Allerton Institute on "Digital Library Use" to boost the developing community of evaluators.

Publications

How We Do User-Centered Design and Analysis for Digital Libraries: A Methodological Forum [Collected papers from the 37th Allerton Institute, Oct. 29-31, 1995. Compiled by A. Bishop].

Sandusky, R. A Dynamic Repository for Organization Specific Information. December, 1995.

Star, S. L. Ecologies of Knowledge: Work and Politics in Science and Technology. Editor. Albany: SUNY Press, 1995.

Star, S. L. " Work and Practice in Social Studies of Science, Medicine and Technology," Science, Technology and Human Values, (1995) 20: 501-507.

Star, S. L. "Infrastructure and Organizational Transformation: Classifying Nurses' Work," (with Geoffrey Bowker and Stefan Timmermans) Pp. 344-370 in W. Orlikowski, G. Walsham, M. Jones and J. DeGross, eds. Information Technology and Changes in Organizational Work. (Proceedings IFIP WG8.2 Conference, Cambridge, England.) London: Chapman and Hall.

Star, S. L. "Steps toward an Ecology of Infrastructure: Problems of Design and Access in Large Information Systems"(with Karen Ruhleder), Information Systems Research, forthcoming.

Star, S. L. "Working Together: Symbolic Interactionism, Activity Theory and Information Systems," in Yrjˆ Engestrˆm and David Middleton, eds. Communication and Cognition at Work, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, in press, 1996.

Presentations

Leigh Star was guest scholar at the University of California Humanities Research Institute, University of California at Irvine, November 20-21. Her work was the topic of a two-day seminar on feminism and methodology, with a focus on linking information systems and feminist theory.

Star, S. L. "Infrastructure and Organizational Transformation: Classifying Nurses' Work," Conference on Information Technology and Changes in Organizational Work, IFIP WAG 8.2, University of Cambridge, England, December, 1995.

Star, S. L. Plenary commentator, "Social theory and the study of computerized work sites," (Burn Latter), Conference on Information Technology and Changes in Organizational Work, IFIP WAG 8.2, University of Cambridge, England, December, 1995.