Eszter Hargittai's research group at Northwestern University is called the Web Use Project. The goal of the research conducted in this group is to learn about how people use the Web in their everyday lives and in particular, how differences in Internet use may contribute to social inequality. News We will be at ICA presenting recent work. Sign up for our mailing list for updates (mailings less than once/month) Projects What does the "digital divide" look like over time? How do people find material on the Web? How do people's online abilities differ and what explains these differences? How do users assess the credibility of online content? How are young adults using the Internet for the creation of content? What explains differences in the types of content people view online? How does gender influence people's perception of their online skills? How do search engines work? What do we know about blogger demographics? How do information technologies influence what types of cultural products people consume? How does young adults' digital literacy influence their online activities? Is it possible to improve young users' online skills through training intervention? Recent Papers Click here for copies of Eszter Hargittai's publications resulting from work done in the group. *NEW*A Framework for Studying Differences in People's Digital Media Uses *NEW*The Social, Political, Economic, and Cultural Dimensions of Search Engines: An Introduction Cognitive Ability and Internet Use Among Older Adults (with Jeremy Freese and Salvador Rivas) The Disability Divide in Internet Access and Use (by Kerry Dobransky and Eszter Hargittai) Differences in Actual and Perceived Online Skills: The Role of Gender (by Eszter Hargittai and Steven Shafer) Hurdles to Information Seeking: Spelling and Typographical Mistakes During Users' Online Behavior (by Eszter Hargittai) Content Diversity Online: Myth or Reality? (by Eszter Hargittai) Toward a Social Framework for Information Seeking (by Eszter Hargittai and Amanda Hinnant) People Faculty Eszter Hargittai Assistant Professor, Departments of Communication Studies and Sociology Faculty Associate, Institute for Policy Research Northwestern University Project Coordinator Jason Gallo Ph.D. Students Soo An Chris Karr Dan Li Gina Walejko Undergraduate Students Jessica Diamond Viktor Domazet Becky Freking Alex Knell Katy Witmer Former affiliates Jason Gallo (Ph.D. student, now: Post-doctoral fellow, University of Wisconsin, Madison) (2004-2006) Amanda Hinnant (Ph.D. student, now: Assistant Professor, Missouri School of Journalism) (2003-2006) Laurell Sims (project coordinator) (2006) Éva Bognár (pre-doctoral fellow) (2005) Sean Zehnder (graduate research assistant) (2004-05) Ellen Duncan (Princeton undergraduate student) (2006) Priscilla Vasquez (undergraduate student) (2006) Erika Priestley (undergraduate student) (2006) Matthew Kane (undergraduate student) (2005) Kathrina Manalac (undergraduate student) (2004-06) Jason Methner (undergraduate student) (2004) Vanessa Pineda (undergraduate student) (2005-07) Press Coverage San Jose Mercury News (or click here) L.A.Times (or click here), reprinted in the Seattle Times Chicago Tribune (or click here) radio segment (mp3) in Future Tense from Minnesota Public Radio Chicago Sun Times LiveScience India Times Chronicle of Higher Education Wired Campus short AP story picked up all over BBC News Online article CNNfn interview More... Contact If you have any questions, please send a note to webuse [at] northwestern [dot] edu or call 847-491-3893.