InfoEco Lab
We are the Information Ecosystems Lab (InfoEco). Information is everywhere. We make it, we consume it, and we pass it around. Our lab understands how ecosystems of information work: who createes information and how? how does information spread through social netowrks? And what are the impacts of information on innovation, creativity, and other human behaviour?
Research
Our research is diverse. We examine how new technologies, such as large-language models, are shaping the way that people access information. We also are intersted in how people form teams and collaborate—and exchanging information in the process—to solve difficult problems. A running theme of our work is in the Science of Science, which aims to understand the social forces that underly science.
You can find more by looking at the publications page.
Below are a few of the themes our lab explores:
- Scholarly Communication: Illuminating opaque aspects of scholarly communication—such as peer disagreements—to better understand how knowledge is constructed and contested in science.
- Studies of Open Source Software (OSS): Characterizing OSS ecosystems by developing metrics of project sustainability and community health and tracing the spread of security vulnerabilities through project networks.
- Epistemic Integrity: Investigating scientific integrity by detecting fraud, citation cartels, plagiarism, and other forms of misconduct, and assessing their impact on the research system.
- Scientific Collaborations: Studying the factors that drive collaboration within universities, such as adminidtrative barriers (departments and colleges), and policies that facilitate cross-campus communication.
- Information on social media: Understanding how people engage with sources of information on the social media webaite Reddit in order to debate and argue. How often and what kinds of scientific articles and credible documents mentioned?
- Public use of science: Examining the public use of scientific knowledge in news, social media, and policy, and evaluating strategies for effective science communication
People
PhD Students
- Zhouming Wu (Northeastern University)
Visiting Students
- Yixuan Liu (PhD student, Northeastern University)
- Zhuoqi Liu (Masters’ student, Northeastern University)
Join InfoEco Lab!
We are always looking for students who want expand our knowledge of information ecosystems. We are an interdisciplinary lab. We welcome computer scientists, social scientists, and everyone in between.
We welcome applications at all levels, and are happy to provide experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students. While specific funded positions are limited, we are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with:
- Strong computational/mathematical background - That is, you know how to program using languages in R or Python, have taken courses on statistics & data analysis, or have knoweldge of machine learning and AI
- Deep domain knowledge - You know a lot about a particular domain, like security or
- Interdisciplinary mindset - You are excited about combining knowledge from different fields
- Scientific rigor - Commitment to reproducible, transparent research practices
How to apply
- Email Dakota directly at dsmurray@albany.edu with:
- CV or resume including publications, presentations, and other relevant info
- Brief statement (<1 page) describing:
- Your research interests and background
- Why you want to join InfoEco specifically
- Your career goals
- Names and contact information for 1-2 references (for undergraduate or masters’ students this could be professors of your past courses)
- Subject line format: “[Position Type] Application - [Your Name]”
- Timeline: We review applications on a rolling basis. For graduate students, follow program-specific deadlines.
JEDI Statement
The Information Ecosystems Lab is committed to offering an inclusive environment where all can learn from one another. We encourage applicants from all, particularly from groups historically under-represented and marginalized in science and technology. Science thrives on diversity of thought, and so diversity is essential for our lab to do good science.