Chapter Introduction | Web Resources | Assignment Comments | Teaching Materials

CSCW and groupware

There are many good sources of information about CSCW and groupware.
A good starting point is the usabilityfirst portal.

There are lots of papers that researchers have made available online. A good overview of CSCW (up until 1994) by Jonathan Grudin is CSCW: history and focus

Many university departments have an impressive array of papers and other materials available online. For example, have a look at The University of Calgary's GroupLab.

Ethnographic studies

There are a number of reports of ethnographic studies available on the web. One of the most extensive collections put together is by a European consortium of researchers who worked together on a project called COTCOS -Cooperative Technologies for Complex Work Settings. There are about 20 studies, covering all manner of areas, using quite different analytic approaches with which to discuss their findings.

Theoretical approaches

We only really touch upon some of the theoretical approaches that are available in HCI and CSCW in the book. An extensive set of papers covering a diversity of theoretical approaches (including Activity Theory, Distributed Cognition, External Cognition, Cognitive Ergonomics, Ethnomethodology, Coordination Theory, Organisational Theory and Computer Science theories) can also be found at the COTCOS resource site.

Computer-mediated Communication (CMC)

The best way to understand how CMC works is to try it out yourself. There are various free software downloads that you can try out.
Some examples include: