Sue Brown’s Research Overview

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.
--Henry David Thoreau

Overview

My research can be classified into three broad streams.  The first, and primary research area is adoption and diffusion of information technology.  The second area is the role and use of communication technologies. The third area is in development and use of knowledge systems.   Intermingled across these perspectives are theories of communication, learning, and individual behavior. 

In the area of adoption and diffusion of information technology, my research has been conducted at the individual, household, and departmental level of analysis.  The overarching question driving my research is, how can we improve the process of finding, selecting, and introducing technologies into organizations and society? 

In the area of communication technologies, my research is primarily focused on how individuals interact with technology.  In this stream of research, I am interested in how face to face issues (e.g., communication apprehension, identity formation) influence how people use communication technologies and how they can benefit from or be injured by such technologies.  I am also interested in the cues that people attend to when evaluating others electronically.  The overarching question driving my research is, how does the use of communication technologies influence learning and relationship development?

In the area of knowledge systems, my research examines both the development and implementation of various types of knowledge-based systems.  The overarching question in this stream of research is, how can knowledge capture, storage, and dissemination be done so as to enhance individual and organizational processes? Recently, I have become very interested in the use of immersive technologies to enhance knowledge exchange, learning, and behavioral change.

Please see my CV for a list of publications and projects.