Call for papers: Information Quality and Usability

Call for papers: Information Quality and Usability

A special issue of International Journal of Information Quality

This special issue is intended to present research and state-of-the-art reviews on the contribution of both system and process usability to information quality. Data is frequently the product or by-product of a human interacting with a computer within the context of a work environment. Information quality problems are often the result of poorly designed or poorly conceived interactions among workplace and business processes, humans, and information systems. For example, practical experience teaches us that business processes differ along a dimension of usability, and that this is a strong determiner of whether humans are able to implement the process in a compliant way.

Information quality can frequently be enhanced through simple changes that increase the usability of the systems and processes that assist us in collecting data. Solving practical problems in data quality will often require attention to usability issues surrounding our data collection environment, including both processes and systems.

We seek papers that explore and illuminate our understanding of the relationships among workplace processes, information systems, usability and information quality, including but not limited to the following:

• Empirical studies of the impact of system and process usability on information accuracy, completeness, validity, and other measures of information quality.
• Reviews of the current state of the art in system and process usability and how usability affects information quality.
• Case studies on the affect of usability and unbalanced or disrupted workplace processes on information quality.
• Studies and reviews of the role of supplying appropriate context (e.g. applying theories of Distributed Cognition and Situated Action) in information quality.
• Reviews and description of methodologies and experimental techniques for assessing the affect of usability and workplace ecology on information quality.
• Description and review of current Best Practices for achieving good usability in systems and processes for the purpose of improving information quality.

Important Dates

Abstract of no more than 3 pages due: 11 January 2008
Preliminary acceptance/rejection notification: 8 February 2008
Full paper due: 11 April 2008
Final acceptance/rejection notification: 30 May 2008
Camera-ready paper due: 18 July 2008