The Information Work Research Group (IWRG), centered in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin, is interested in information work broadly conceived, including work that employs information technologies as well as work that builds information technologies. The IWRG’s interest spans for-profit as well as non-profit sectors of the economy, whether the work is done by IT workers or by others.
Topics currently of interest to IWRG faculty include, among others:
- software development (including free and open source software)
- offshoring and outsourcing (more generally, the distribution of information workers)
- education and training for information workers
- gender, racial, and ethnic issues in the information workforce
- integration of information work and information technology into various application domains, e.g. the auto industry or science
- computer-supported cooperative work
- social media and work
- the trajectory of information work careers
- professionalization, ethics, and information work
IWRG faculty members have expertise in the social sciences, including sociology, organizational studies, communication studies, science and technology studies, political science, public policy, and history. The faculty educates graduate students at the doctoral and master’s levels (typically through joint advising of students), organizing lecture series, participating in reading groups, and conducting joint research projects.
The IWRG is generously funded through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
