Directors:

• Roxanne Hiltz
• Michael Bieber

Members:

All IS and CS Faculty and their Ph.D. students are welcome to be members of the Co-Lab. However, membership is managed on a per person basis, that is, the lab is focused on “Collaborative Systems” (including “Group Support Systems”, “Online Community” systems, Asynchronous Learning Networks, all forms of research on Computer-Mediated Communication, etc) and on web-based knowledge bases and systems that include hypermedia (web linking and navigation) including Digital Libraries; so projects with these foci are given first priority. Currently we do not have enough work stations and facilities to provide for each of our Ph.D. students, so they are shared.

Purpose:

To be the primary "housing" on campus for IS PhD students, part time as well as full time (along with e-ArtH, which has a smaller number of work station areas available for PhD students).

To support faculty and PhD student research in the collaborative hypermedia areas.

To provide a collaborative environment and computer support for visiting scholars and visiting researchers to the IS Department in the collaborative hypermedia areas.

Facilities:

There are several different parts of the Lab:

1. The "development area" near the door has large screen work stations and servers that are used by faculty and students working on building systems and on specific research projects involving system design and evaluation, or data collection and analysis related to information systems functionality and usability to meet user needs. Usually full time advanced PhD students working on a project under the direction of a faculty member are assigned a work station in this area. If they are not at their work station, it might be used by another lab member. Two carrels in the back of this area are designated for priority use by funded projects that include the collection of sensitive data or the operation of a system needing security and not casual access by any passer-by.
2. The "Group Support Systems" area is where all group experiments are conducted. It consists of a U-shaped table with about 12 small computers and screens that can be seen over, for conducting computer-supported meetings. There are three projectors, so that more than one computer can project onto the large wall for discussion and viewing, at the same time. When not in use for scheduled experiments, it is used for some small classes (in the evenings only) needing hands on computer use by the students (including the Quantitative Analysis in Information Systems Research, taught by D. Mendonca, and Design of Interactive Systems, taught by M. Turoff); for use during the day by any IS PhD student who needs a place to work for the day (on a first come-first served basis); and for scheduled events such as faculty training, PhD defenses, etc.
3. Storage areas: two large closets and many cabinets. Full time PhD students who are members of the lab are assigned a locked cabinet for secure storage of their personal materials. They also have individual alarm codes for access after hours.

Besides hardware, we have purchased a great deal of special software used in information systems development and research, including copies of N-Vivo for qualitative data analysis and SPSS and other statistical software for quantitative data analysis.

Day to Day Management:

The lab directors set policies and priorities. One or two advanced PhD students with experience in the Lab are appointed lab manager (or co-managers, sometimes hardware and people management are divided). This student supervises the scheduling of lab monitors from among the PhD students (each supported PhD student who is a member of the Lab, whether supported on department or grant funds, is to spend five hours a week as a lab monitor) and handles hardware and software problems and updates, with support from Computing Services. All regularly open lab hours are covered by a lab monitor, who maintains the security, decorum, and neatness of the lab and reports any problems with hardware, software, or supplies to the lab manager. The lab manager takes care of routine problems and reports to the lab directors if there is a problem needing their advice or intervention. Traditionally, the PhD student—lab manager receives as compensation, an assignment to only manage the lab, during their last semester when they are finishing their dissertation and interviewing for a job. In the other semester of the year or years they serve as manager, they also have a regular teaching or research assignment and do the lab managing on top of this.

History and Funding:

The original equipment was purchased through: NSF CISE Instrumentation Grant, "Collaborative Hypermedia", (9818309) $90,000, 1999 -Jan. 31 2003. (Michael Bieber, PI ; SR Hiltz and M. Turoff, co-PIs).

The special furniture, such as a the large Cherry U-shaped table that cost approximately $18,000 since it had to be custom made, was purchased by grant money from the UPS Foundation, from a proposal written by Murray Turoff and Starr Roxanne Hiltz

Additional hardware and software have been purchased through subsequent grants, including:

1. (CISE August 2002, $190,000 Starr Roxanne Hiltz, PI; and
2. New Jersey Center for Pervasive Information Technology, from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, ( joint with Princeton, S.R. Hiltz, co-PI, (9/2000-12/ 2005); and
3. Sloan Foundation: WebCenter for Learning Networks Effectiveness Research. Starr Roxanne Hiltz, PI; $370,000, Jan. 2001- December 2004). Extension grant through December 2005.

Over 20 faculty members from NJIT and several visiting scholars from other universities have been involved in these projects as co-investigators or co-authors. In addition, hundreds of students were involved, either as research assistants, or as subjects in experiments who were subsequently debriefed and had an opportunity for hands-on learning about the experimental method.