Research Areas

The faculty and staff at the UW-Madison Information School engage in research, scholarly inquiry, and outreach projects at the intersection of people, information and data, and computing technologies. In keeping with the principle of the Wisconsin Idea, that academia should improve the lives of the people of the state, the region, and the world, iSchool work seeks to add to collective knowledge, productivity and innovation, and to the well-being of people, communities, and society.

iSchool faculty and staff collaborate with scholars from many fields to create and disseminate research about past, present, and future information users and uses, the processes and technologies vital for information management and use, and the economies, cultures, and policies that affect information and access to it.

As part of the larger School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences, iSchool researchers have access to research support and connections to foster innovation, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and drive discovery on societal research challenges.

Cutting Edge Research At The Intersection Of Humanity & Information

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Applications of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing

Ian Hutchins Scientific Portfolio Analysis, Bibliometrics, Science-of-Science
Corey B. Jackson Human-centered computing, computer-supported cooperative work, and design epistemologies from fields such as organization studies, psychology, and education
Chaoqun Ni Scholarly Communication, Science Policy, Scientometrics, Scholarly Data Analytics
Jacob Thebault-Spieker HCI, social computing

Bibliometrics, Scientometrics, or Science of Science   

Ian Hutchins Scientific Portfolio Analysis, Bibliometrics, Science-of-Science
Chaoqun Ni Scholarly Communication, Science Policy, Scientometrics, Scholarly Data Analytics

Book History, Print Culture, or Publishing

Greg Downey History and geography of information and communication technology and labor
Kristin R. Eschenfelder Data management, scholarly communications, information/data policy, science and technology studies
Jonathan Senchyne Book history and print culture, American literary history, African American print culture, digital humanities, American Studies

Human Centered Data Systems and Data Analytics

Jacob Thebault-Spieker HCI, social computing
Adam Rule Human computer interaction, health informatics, human-centered data science

History and Culture of Information, Digital Humanities

Greg Downey History and geography of information and communication technology and labor
Reginold Royston New Media and innovation in the African Diaspora
Jonathan Senchyne book history and print culture, American literary history, African American print culture, digital humanities, American Studies
Jacob Thebault-Spieker HCI, social computing

Health Informatics and Electronic Health Records

Catherine Arnott Smith Consumer health informatics, History of medicine
Adam Rule Human computer interaction, health informatics, human-centered data science

Human Computer Interaction, User Experience & Computer Supported Cooperative Work

Corey B. Jackson Human-centered computing, computer-supported cooperative work, and design epistemologies from fields such as organization studies, psychology, and education
Adam Rule Human computer interaction, health informatics, human-centered data science
Jacob Thebault-Spieker HCI, social computing

Information Ethics, Policy, or Law

Kristin R. Eschenfelder Data management, scholarly communications, information/data policy, science and technology studies
Alan Rubel Information ethics, policy, and law
Dorothea Salo A/V digitization, digital preservation, research-data management, scholarly communication, information security, privacy

Information Practices, Literacies and Behaviors

Kristin R. Eschenfelder Data management, scholarly communications, information/data policy, science and technology studies
Kyung-Sun “Sunny” Kim Information behavior, Information users, user-centered systems/services
Catherine Arnott Smith Consumer health informatics, History of medicine
Rebekah Willett Childhood studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Education, Girlhood Studies

 

Libraries and Librarianship

Kristin R. Eschenfelder Data management, scholarly communications, information/data policy, science and technology studies
Kyung-Sun “Sunny” Kim Information behavior, Information users, user-centered systems/services
Catherine Arnott Smith Consumer health informatics, History of medicine
Rebekah Willett Childhood studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Education, Girlhood Studies
DeAnza Williams Multicultural representation in youth literature; library services for youth and teens; youth digital media practices; public libraries as informal learning centers.

Race, Gender, or Indigeneity

Corey B. Jackson Human-centered computing, computer-supported cooperative work, and design epistemologies from fields such as organization studies, psychology, and education
Chaoqun Ni Scholarly Communication, Science Policy, Scientometrics, Scholarly Data Analytics
Reginold Royston New Media and innovation in the African Diaspora
Jonathan Senchyne Book history and print culture, American literary history, African American print culture, digital humanities, American Studies
Jacob Thebault-Spieker HCI, social computing
DeAnza Williams Multicultural representation in youth literature; library services for youth and teens; youth digital media practices; public libraries as informal learning centers.
Rebekah Willett Childhood studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Education, Girlhood Studies

Security, Privacy, Credibility, or Disinformation

Kristin R. Eschenfelder Data management, scholarly communications, information/data policy, science and technology studies
Kyung-Sun “Sunny” Kim Information behavior, Information users, user-centered systems/services
Dorothea Salo A/V digitization, digital preservation, research-data management, scholarly communication, information security, privacy
Catherine Arnott Smith Consumer health informatics, History of medicine
Alan Rubel Information ethics, policy, and law
Emilee Rader Human-centered data privacy, sociotechnical systems
Rick Wash Cybersecurity, phishing, passwords

Youth Media, Literature, and Culture

Jonathan Senchyne Book history and print culture, American literary history, African American print culture, digital humanities, American Studies
DeAnza Williams Multicultural representation in youth literature; library services for youth and teens; youth digital media practices; public libraries as informal learning centers.
Rebekah Willett Childhood studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Education, Girlhood Studies