Data Advocacy Research (DAR) Lab
Our lab conducts research at the intersection of information science, human computer interaction, privacy, and migration. The group is comprised of students who are committed to working on research that impacts society. We welcome enthusiastic students at any level to our lab, especially students who speak and understand Spanish, and who want to work on qualitative, ethnographic, and indigenous research methods. To inquire about opportunities in the lab, please send out any queries to shiva{at}nmsu.edu
DAR Lab Students
Current PhD Students- Anamika Rajendran (co-advised with Dr. Bill Hamilton) (NMSU, Fall 2024-present)
- Tajwar Ul Hoque (NMSU, Spring 2025-present)
- Cassandra Palmer (NMSU, Summer 2025-present)
- Jonathan Leuenberger (NMSU, Spring 2025-present)
- Augusto Penzo Jara (NMSU, Summer 2025-present)
- Marisol Yake (co-advised with Dr. Amy Voida) (CU Boulder, Spring 2022-Spring 2025)
- Clara Chavez (NMSU, Fall 2024-Fall 2024)
Ongoing Research Areas
Data Use in Advocacy Nonprofit advocacy organizations have some of the most powerful voices in contemporary politics. Nonprofits are also responsible for informing governmental decision making around allocating resources to address needs in our society. Our research combines qualitative studies of the various genres of data work in advocacy organizations, finding powerful exemplars of data feminist principles in action, with content analyses of the rhetorical data work of political action committees on social media.
- Enacting Data Feminism in Advocacy Data Work: CSCW'23
- Data Rhetoric in Electoral Communications: CSCW'23
Interorganizational Data Infrastructures Collaborative data work among agencies supporting people in migration is challenging as diverse organizations try to balance client privacy with flexible access in order to coordinate, conduct procedures, and provide services. Government agencies, nonprofits, and private entities each have distinct data systems and collect different information. Meanwhile, the United States - Mexico border remains a contentious focal point of political debate and immigration policy The quantification of people on the move influence organizational work, local and national policy, as well as fuels many media narratives and news coverage. Since August 2022, we have conducted 500+ hours of auto-ethnographic fieldwork as well as dozens of semi-structured interviews with people on the move and many organizational stakeholders serving migrant communities.
- Data Siloing as Infrastructural Activism: CSCW'25