Amelia Abreu is a PhD candidate focused on human-computer interaction, information organization, and design. She has conducted extensive user research through data analysis, ethnography, and usability testing. Notable projects include exploring "collaborative collecting" practices of data sharing and examining how youth use social media platforms for community. Abreu also leads work on intersections of big and small data through publications, workshops, and prototypes.

1. Amelia Abreu
Users, Design and Data
ameliacabreu@gmail.com
ameliaabreu.com
Thursday, September 19, 13

2. Background
Research/Teaching
- PhD Candidate, focus on Human-
Computer Interaction
- Information Organization and Design
- Quantitative, Qualitative and Critical
Methods
-User-Centered Design and Usability
Testing
User Research
- Data analysis and design
ethnography
- Quantitative, Qualitative and
Critical Methods
-Report findings and make strategic
Recommendations for Product
Design
Metadata
- Lead professional workshops
- Develop design recommendations,
including wireframes and
prototypes.
Critical Data Mining
- Research Intern with danah boyd and Kate
Crawford
- Experience-based analysis of data-rich
environments.
- Analytics/Metrics
- Develop personas and use cases for
engineering teams
<BigData>
<SmallData>
Thursday, September 19, 13

3. Collaborative Collecting: Data Sharing in Everyday Life
In 2012, I was a sponsored researcher at Intel’s Experiences and Interaction Lab. As part of a larger
project examining how data and media shared in everyday practices, I explored the phenomena of
“collaborative collecting” as a data sharing practice, examining social context, metadata, description,
and techno-social improvisations. I organized and conducted over 100 hours of design-ethnographic
interviews, conducted participant observation, and designed reflective exercises for participants.
Over the course of the project, I reported progress and results to research and product teams.
Report | Slides | Photos and Videos
Thursday, September 19, 13

4. Big Data/Small Data
In 2012-2013, I lead a collaborative of researchers and designers in exploring the convergence of Big
Data (such as sensor data) and Small Data (such as personal records) in universities, cultural
institutions, and industry. We published a white paper and conducted workshops in Washington, D.C.,
Portland, and Austin. Participating institutions included UCLA, University of Michigan, University of
Texas-Austin, The Getty Museum and NYPL. We’ve developed prototypes for analysis tools, proposals
for future projects, and spurred multiple cross-disciplinary collaborations working to preserve context
and integrity for all sizes of data.
White Paper| Meeting Notes | Workshop Agenda
Data Dialectics, from “Context and Collection: a research
agenda for Small Data”, Abreu and Acker, 2013
Thursday, September 19, 13

5. Video (Sharing) Games
In 2010, I worked with danah boyd at Microsoft Research to examine how youth of color
“game” social media platforms for playful interaction, and how these interactions facilitate
meaningful online communities. Focusing on video sharing, we traced network patterns,
scraped data, conducted textual analysis, and observed patterns of interaction. We shared
our results internally at Microsoft and developed specs for engineering and product teams.
Slides | Dataset | Research Notes
Thursday, September 19, 13

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UX Design/Development
I teach UX design, usability, programming and related topics, and
design and build stuff when I get the chance.
site maps | use cases | wireframes | interactive prototypes
Thursday, September 19, 13

7. • Abreu, A. and Acker, A. “Traces of Heritage: An archival
approach to digital collections” Heritage Matters
Workshop, CHI’12, May 5–10, 2012, Austin, TX
• Abreu A., “Critical Information Studies and Digital
Humanities”. Presented at the Digital Humanities
Summer Institute, Doctoral Colloquium, June 5-9, 2011,
Victoria, BC.
• Abreu A. and Matienzo, M. “Archival sensemaking:
framing personal digital archiving behavior”. Paper
presented at Personal Digital Archives 2011, The
Internet Archive, San Francisco, February 24-25, 2011
• Abreu, A. “Design for Archives: The Trevor Project”.
Poster presented at the I-Conference, Seattle, February
9, 2010
• Abreu, A. “Tag games, tweets, and recipes: Social
media as cultural record”, Reimagining the Archives ,
University of California, Los Angeles, November, 12
2010
Publications and Presentations
Thursday, September 19, 13

8. Data Science and Analytics
• Archival Data Analysis
and Assessment
• Data Journeys and Tours
• Cleaning and Wrangling
• Analysis Tools: R, SPSS,
Altas TI
• Scripting: Python, JS
• Databases: SQL, PHP
Thursday, September 19, 13

9. THANK YOU!
Amelia Abreu | ameliaabreu.com | @ameliaabreu | ameliacabreu@gmail.com | 206.334.7828
Thursday, September 19, 13