Social informatics is the body of research that examines the design, uses, and consequences of information and communication technologies in ways that take into account their interaction with in- stitutional and cultural contexts. This article serves as a brief intro- ductiontosocialinformatics.Examplessuchascomputernetworks, scienti c communication via electronic journals, and public access to the Internet are used to illustrate key ideas from social infor- matics research. Some of the key themes include the importance of social contexts and work processes, sociotechnical networks, public access to information, and social infrastructure for computing sup- port. The article draws upon 25 years of systematic analytical and critical research about information technology and social change.
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