Abstract

There is a rapidly growing interest in the use of information technology to support groups. Over the past two years, more than fifty universities have established GSS research programs, and many more organizations have installed GSS software. The number of books, research papers, popular press articles, and conferences focusing on GSS has also increased dramatically. This tutorial will provide an overview of the current state of the art in GSS research and a glimpse into the future. Our objective is to share 1mowledge that will provide a firm foundation for newly established research programs and invigorate well established ones. The tutorial will include presentations as well as dialogues between us and you, the audience. We intend to use a GSS to better gather and summarize input from the audience on selected topics. The tutorial will cover a number of key areas including: • GSS Technology The different types of GSS technology and their differential effects on group performance and attitudes. This will include a discussion of the effects of facilitation. • Useful theories The key theories of past current, and future GSS research, including macro versus micro theories, media richness, and structuration. • What we know This section will focus on assessing the state-of-the-art of GSS empirical research. Individual studies will not be reviewed in detail; instead, we will paint a general picture of the cumulative research results, including field, laboratory, and systems development research streams. • Using GSS as a Research Tool GSS has typically been seen as a research construct in its own right (e.g., studying GSS effects on group and organizations). But GSS are much more versatile tools. In this section, we examine how GSS can be used to provide an environment to facilitate the research process. • What we don't know This section will examine fruitful topics that need to be addressed. This will be driven by the audience, but our discussions will likely include use of GSS over time and distributively, special applications, and failures.

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