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Caroline Haythornthwaite

Professor Emerita, Syracuse University and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Education PhD, University of Toronto
https://haythorn.wordpress.com/ (external link) 

 

Visiting Toronto Metropolitan University

Spring 2025

Research focus while a Bridging Divides Scholar

Caroline Haythornthwaite's research focuses on connectivity and participation through the Internet and social media for work, learning, and socialization. Her work is underpinned by a social network perspective and social network analysis (SNA) methodology. SNA examines the relationships that connect actors in a network, the structures they form, and the outcomes of such connectivity. Social networks reveal what resources flow to and from different actors in a network and how these interactions shape relationships and communities.

On the positive side, such networks facilitate genuine, prosocial interactions for collaborative work and open learning; they connect strangers with shared interests and expand learning opportunities. On the negative side, they can foster inauthentic and anti-social behaviors, amplify misinformation, and create echo chambers of one-sided conversations.

As a Bridging Divides Scholar of Excellence, Caroline will apply her research expertise in social networks, virtual communities, online and e-learning, and learning analytics, along with her current examination of social media issues, to explore topics such as information access, participation in open online contexts, formal, informal, and non-formal learning online, and the role of community and belonging in immigrant life and lifelong learning.

Employment and Lifelong Learning
Citizenship and Participation

Career achievements

Caroline Haythornthwaite is Professor Emerita, Syracuse University and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC). She was Professor in the School of Information Sciences at UIUC, 1996 to 2010; Director and Professor, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at The University of British Columbia, 2010 to 2016; and Professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, 2016 to 2021. Extended visiting positions include a year as Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education, University of London (2009-10); and as Visiting Researcher, Brazilian Institute for Information in Science and Technology (2009). Prior to her academic career she spent 10 years in the computing industry, notably with I.P. Sharp Associates in Toronto, Canada. Major publications include The Internet in Everyday Life (2002, with Barry Wellman), the first collection of empirical studies on how being online fits into everyday lives; and E-learning Theory and Practice (2011, with Richard Andrews), addressing the transformative effects of learning on and through the internet. In 2017, she received the ASIS&T, Research Award in Information Science in recognition of outstanding research contribution in the field of information science.

Relevant publications

Haythornthwaite, C., Mai, P. & Gruzd, A. (2024). Social media as fragile state. Proceedings of the 57th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Honolulu, HI, Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society. https://hdl.handle.net/10125/106679 (external link)  [Best paper in mini-track].

Haythornthwaite, C. (2023). Moderation, networks, and anti-social behavior online. Social Media + Society, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231196874 (external link) 

Haythornthwaite, C. (2022). Analytics for informal learning in social media. In Charles Lang, George Siemens, Alyssa Friend Wise, Dragan Gašević, Agathe Merceron (Eds.), Handbook of Learning Analytics and Knowledge (pp.163-172). https://www.solaresearch.org/publications/hla-22/ (external link) .

Kumar, P., Gruzd, A., Haythornthwaite, C., Gilbert, S., Esteve del Valle, M. & Paulin, D. (January 2018). Learning in the wild: Coding Reddit for learning and practice. Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Big Island, HI, Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstreams/a92a22f0-5740-4400-b0e1-6fd8336652e0/download (external link) . 

Paulin, D. & Haythornthwaite, C. (2016). Crowdsourcing the curriculum: Redefining e-learning practices through peer-generated approaches. The Information Society, 32(2), 130–142. Doi:10.1080/01972243.2016.1130501. 

Budhathoki, N. R. & Haythornthwaite, C. (2013). Motivation for open collaboration: Crowd and community models and the case of OpenStreetMap. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(5), 548-575. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002764212469364 (external link)   [Best social informatics paper, 2013, ASIS&T SIG-SI]

Haythornthwaite, C. (2009). Crowds and communities: Light and heavyweight models of peer production. Proceedings of the 42nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Big Island, HI. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society. https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings-article/hicss/2009/07-07-01/12OmNqJHFKe (external link) .

Haythornthwaite, C. (2007). Social networks and online community. In A. Joinson, K. McKenna, U. Reips & T. Postmes (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Internet Psychology (pp. 121-136). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28185/chapter-abstract/213075367 (external link)   

Haythornthwaite, C. (2005). Social networks and Internet connectivity effects. Information, Communication & Society, 8(2), 125-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691180500146185 (external link) 

Haythornthwaite, C. (2002). Strong, weak and latent ties and the impact of new media. The Information Society, 18(5), 385 – 401. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240290108195 (external link)