karen louise smith

I am a PhD student in the Faculty of Information Studies and Knowledge Media Design Institute at the University of Toronto, Canada. My research interests center around: information communication technologies (ICTs), citizenship, democracy, deliberation, social inclusion and policy formation. I am also interested in qualitative research methods including participatory research/design, and video/virtual/visual ethnography. My research is being supervised by Dr. Andrew Clement.

Prior to commencing my PhD, I completed a masters degree in School of Communication at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby and Vancouver, British Columbia. My thesis research examined the policy, organizational and end-user perspectives pertinent to the implementation of government produced health information websites in a community health center waiting room.

In addition to academic research, I have worked in the Philippines as web design intern with a human rights organization, in a content management role with a major Canadian online banking organization, and for the federal government to research online consultation technologies.