ACADEMIC POSITIONS
2017-Present
Visiting Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
2016-2017
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Gradate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
2015-2016
Visiting Scholar, Gradate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
DEGREES
Ph.D. in Information Science, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin (2016)
Dissertation: Everyday Shopping: An Exploration of the Information Behaviors of the Grocery Shoppers
Committee: Drs. William Aspray, Lynn Westbrook, Melanie Feinberg, & Ann Reynolds
B.A. Cum Laude in Sociology and Political Science with Honors, Pepperdine University, Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences (2009)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Everyday Information Behavior, Cultural Theory, Critical Theory, Food Studies, Research Methods
AWARDS & HONORS
- SIG USE Elfreda A. Chatman Research Award (2017)
- Benonine Muse Scholarship (2015-2016)
- H. W. Wilson Endowed Presidential Scholarship (2014-2015)
- Robert R. Douglass Memorial Endowed Scholarship, University of Texas at Austin (2012-2013)
- Honor’s Research Program in Political Science, Pepperdine University (2009)
- Member of Phi Sigma Alpha, political science honor society (2009)
- Pepperdine Speech and Debate Team Scholarship (2007-2009)
- Member of Eta Sigma, first year national honor society (2006)
- Dean’ Scholarship, Pepperdine University (2005-2009)
PUBLISHED WORKS
Ocepek, M. G. (2018). Bringing out the everyday in everyday information behavior. Journal of Documentation, 74(2), 398-411.
Ocepek, M. G. (2018). Sensible shopping: A sensory exploration of the information environment of the grocery store. Library Trends, 66(3), 371-394.
Ocepek, M. G. (2017). Passive information behaviors while grocery shopping. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 54(1), 507-510.
Ocepek, M. G., Karadkar, U., & Aspray, W. (2015). A perspective on the larger world: Newspaper coverage of national and international events in three small US cities, 1870 – 1920. Information & Culture: A Journal of History, 50(3), 417-440.
Gruning, J., Bullard, J., & Ocepek, M.G. (2015). Medium, access, and obsolescence: What kinds of objects are lasting objects? Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems—CHI 2015. (Acceptance Rate: 23% of 2150 submissions.)
Kim, Y., Briley, D. A., & Ocepek, M. G. (2015). Differential innovation of smartphone and application use by sociodemographics and personality computers in human behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 44, 141-147 .
Aspray, W., Ocepek, M. G., & Royer, G. (2014). On cars and food: Reflections on sources for the historical study of everyday information behavior. Information & Culture: A Journal of History, 49(4), 492-525.
Aspray, W., Royer, G., & Ocepek, M. G. (2014). Formal and Informal Approaches to Food Policy. New York: Springer.
Ocepek, M. G., Aspray, W., & Royer, G. (2014). The incidental impact of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on the revival of French food in America. Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 3(2), 11-19.
Aspray, W., Royer, G., & Ocepek, M. G. (2013). Food in the Internet age. New York: Springer.
Ocepek, M. G. & Fetzer, J.S. (2010). The causes of pro‐immigration voting in the United States Supreme Court. International Migration Review, 43(3), 659-696.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Buchanan, S. A., Bullard, J., Aspray, W., Bailey, D., Barker, L., Carter, D., Clement, T. Gottschlich, N. Howison, J. McLaughlin, S., Ocepek, M., Sholler, D., & Trace, C.B. (2017, October). Collaborative syllabus design for studying information work. Poster presented at 2017 Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Washington, DC.
Ocepek, M. G. (2016, October). Shopping for Sources: An Everyday Information Behavior Exploration of Grocery Shoppers’ Information Sources. Poster presented at 2016 Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Barker, L. J., Broussard, R., Buchanan, S., Carter, D., Gruning, J., Gursoy, A., Kazin, N., Moon, E., Ocepek, M. G., & Simons, R. (2015, March). 21st century information workers: What core competencies should MSIS students learn? Session for Interaction and Engagement at iConference 2015, Newport Beach, CA.
Ocepek, M. G., Aspray, W., & Royer G. (2013, October) ‘I’m not Mrs. Roosevelt’: The incidental impact of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on food and nutrition. Paper presented at the 3rd International Conference on Food Studies, Austin, TX.
INVITED TALKS
Ocepek, M. G. (2016, October). Shopping for Sources: An Exploration of Grocery Shoppers’ Information Sources. Talk presented to the Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship (CIRSS) Seminar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Aspray, W., Royer, G., & Ocepek, M. G. (2012, November) The Informed Stomach: A Study in Food, Culture, and Information in America. Talk presented to the School of Information Research Colloquium, University of Texas at Austin.
COURSES TAUGHT
Instructor, LIS 501: Information Organization and Access (UIUC; FA2017, SP2018)
Instructor, LIS 502: Libraries, Information, and Society (UIUC; FA2016, SP2017, FA2017, SP 2018)
Assistant Instructor, INF 335W: Information in Cyberspace (UT; SU2015)
Teaching Assistant, INF 380E: Perspectives on Information (UT; SP2014, SU2014)
Teaching Assistant, INF 385T: Pets and Everyday Information Behavior (UT; SU2013)
Teaching Assistant, INF 335W: Information in Cyberspace (UT; SP2013)
Teaching Assistant, INF 397C: Understanding Research (UT; FA2012)
NEW COURSE DEVELOPMENT
LIS 590CIO: Copyright for Information Professionals. Co-developed with Sara Benson, Copyright Librarian, an elective master’s course designed for LIS and IM students interested in how copyright affects information work.
SERVICE
Committee Co-Chair, SIG-USE Symposium, SIG-USE, ASIS&T (2017-2018)
Committee Member, Admissions Committee, School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2017-2018)
Student Representative, Doctoral Studies Committee, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin (2014-2015)
Coordinator, iSchool Doctoral Student Association, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin (2014-2015)
Student Representative, Curriculum Committee, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin (2013-2014)
Organizer, iSchool Doctoral StudentAssociation, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin (2013-2014)
ASSISTANTSHIPS & FELLOWSHIPS
University of Texas Continuing University Fellowship (2015-2016)
This fellowship provided full support ($34,316 total) over a 9 month period in recognition of accomplishments as a graduate student.
Graduate Research Assistant, Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty to Study the Work of 21st Century Librarians Grant, University of Texas at Austin (2013-present), IMLS
This assistantship supports participation in an IMLS-funded project focusing on information work and the creation of ILS curricula to prepare future LIS graduates.
Graduate Research Assistant, Information Technology, Remote Socialization, and the Development of Occupational Identity, University of Texas at Austin (Summer 2013), NSF
This assistantship supported participation in an NSF-funded project focusing on remote occupational socialization of workers in Brazil, India, Poland, Mexico, and the United States.
Editorial Fellow, Information and Culture: A Journal of History, University of Texas at Austin (2012-2013)
This fellowship involved reviewing academic submissions, website maintenance, and assisting with editorial decisions
Graduate Assistant, Sanger Learning and Career Center, University of Texas at Austin (2011-2012)
This assistantship involved working with learning specialists to develop programs to develop and improve skills for peer tutors and teaching assistants.
AD HOC JOURNAL REVIEWER
Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T): since 2012
Melissa Ocepek 