IText - Future directions for research on the relationship between information technology and writing

Most people who use information technology (IT) every day use IT in text-ce ntered interactions. In e-mail, we compose and read texts. On the Web, we r ead (and often compose) texts. And when we create and refer to the appointm ents and notes in our personal digital assistants, we use texts. Texts are deeply embedded in cultural, cognitive, and material arrangements that go b ack thousands of years. Information technologies with texts at their core a re, by contrast, a relatively recent development. To participate with other information researchers in shaping the evolution of these ITexts, research ers and scholars must build on a knowledge base and articulate issues, a ta sk undertaken in this article. The authors begin by reviewing the existing foundations for a research program in IText and then scope out issues for r esearch over the next five to seven years. They direct particular attention to the evolving character of ITexts and to their impact on society. By und ertaking this research, the authors urge the continuing evolution of techno logies of text.