This presentation by Meghan McGrath, Indiana University, will also include a bonus unveiling of AustKin interface and interactive homemade chocolate chip cookies.

How can ethnographic collections be successfully shared with a public audience online? Learn how information architecture and HCI (human-computer interaction) design principles can make your fieldwork or research more accessible, engaging, and “spreadable” – all while weighing in on the new AustKin interface and enjoying participatory chocolate chip cookies.

The AustKin Project began as an effort by ANU linguists to collect and compare kinship data from across Australia. The current database references over 670 sources and covers roughly 300 Australian Aboriginal language varieties. The interface presented in this seminar will be a prototype of the final AustKin website, which will be made publicly available in 2015. We’ll talk about the mysterious and riveting process of making that prototype, as well as ideas for presenting ethnographic data in general.