Min-Chun Ku

Currently I'm a Ph.D. candidate of the Ph.D. program in Information Science and Technology, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University. I have received my M.S. in Library and Information Science here at the School of Information Studies, SU in May 2007. I received my Bachelor of Education from Division of Library and Information Science, Department of Adult and Continuing Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, in 2004. I also had a minor in health education and secondary education program.

Research Interests

Interaction with Genres in Contexts

I approach this question in several ways: theoretical characterizations of how humans interact with genres for different tasks in different contexts; empirical studies of different criteria employed when predicting and assessing genres in the human-information interaction process; design instruction, information gateways, library and information services, and/or systems that facilitate information access using genres. Specific topics of interest are the impact of the understanding of genres on actual information use and the prediction and assessment of genres from both cognitive and socio-cultural perspectives. The contexts that I am interested in include scholars’ use of genres in their research, teaching, and service tasks, the use of genres in online social networks, and international scholars’ genre repertoires. My future plan is to compare the differences of the use of genres in relation to credibility prediction and assessment across disciplines over time and to use eye-tracking device to explore the depth of interacting with genres by experiments.

Research Areas

Scholarly information practices, information use, interaction with genres, and information-seeking behaviors.

Dissertation

Investigating genre-credibility relations in the context of faculty scholars’ research and teaching practices (working title)

Teaching Interests

Min-Chun's research interests include information behaviors of all sorts, specifically information seeking and use behaviors. I like to explore and understand how humans perceive and act upon what they understand to seek information and apply it in different situations and contexts, such as online social networks. In particular, I'm interested in various discourse communities in which insiders have similar sets of beliefs, values, and customs that shape what types of information they seek and exchange, assess and decide what information is relevant, useful, and credible, how they use information, and how these information behaviors define their social roles and affect their interactions.

Currently I am investigating the roles of genres in the context of information practices. I like both quantitative and qualitative methods because the former allows me to see bigger picture while the latter allows me to experience and understand the rich nature of a specific phenomenon.

Professional Interests

Personal Interests

I like traveling and cooking. I especially like to try all of those ingredients that I have never tried and seen and learn about those interesting and fascinating stories behind cuisine and ingredients from various cultures.