WORKSHOP: iConference'15 Doctoral Research Colloquium

University Of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports on-site lodging, subsistence, and operational expenses for a diverse group of U.S. doctoral students and distinguished faculty mentors to participate in a doctoral colloquium (workshop) on information science research. It will be co-located with the 2015 iConference hosted by the University of California-Irvine and held in Newport Beach, California on March 24-27, 2015. The iConferences, the annual meetings of the iSchool community, are a leading forum that brings together faculty, students, research staff, and industry practitioners with a common interest in supporting and augmenting human engagement with information and technology. Open to broad participation, the iConferences have been successful in building a sense of community around the information field, bringing together people who otherwise might rarely interact with one another, and helping promote their interdisciplinary research. More information about the iConference may be found online at http://ischools.org/the-iconference/. The 2015 iConference Doctoral Colloquium will be a meeting of 27 selected Ph.D. candidates studying all aspects of information science, along with approximately 9 distinguished faculty mentors. Colloquium activities will be woven throughout the conference, starting with an orientation on March 25th and culminating in an all-day event on 27th. The core of the event will be mentor-led, peer-critique sessions of dissertation research projects held in small four-person teams. The primary objective of the Doctoral Colloquium is to help train the next generation of information science researchers. To this end, it will provide the student participants with an environment in which they can share and discuss their goals, methods and results at an early stage of their research. By participating in the doctoral colloquium, students will gain feedback on their work both from the mentors and from other students, which should allow them to enhance their research. Students will also develop a better understanding of the different research communities engaged in the study of information science, and learn how to position their work within the community. In addition, the colloquium will provide students with opportunities to make new professional connections beyond their own disciplines and institutions. Broader Impacts: The iConference doctoral colloquia traditionally bring together the best of the next generation of researchers in information science, allowing them to develop a social network both among themselves and with senior researchers at a critical stage in their professional development. Participation is encouraged from a broad range of relevant disciplines, thereby expanding attendees' perspectives on their topics of study and promoting advancement of the field. The organizers will proactively work to maximize diversity along such key dimensions as institution type, research topics, methodological approaches, disciplinary traditions, gender, ethnicity, and national or cultural backgrounds.