I’m Os Keyes, a PhD student in the Data Ecologies Laboratory at the University of Washington’s Department of Human Centred Design & Engineering, where my advisor is Professor David Ribes. I’m also part of the Science, Technology and Society Studies (STS) program, where I’m advised by Professor Anna Lauren Hoffmann.

My joke title is “Sociologist with Menaces” - I sit somewhere between Gender Studies, Human-Computer Interaction, and STS. My current projects investigate how models of gender are encoded within dataset and algorithm design, non-binary experiences in navigating gendered (virtual or real) infrastructure, and collaborative practices in the design of computational systems. More broadly my interests are data ethics, gender, infrastructure and control.

My research methods are more ethnographic and experiential than quantitative, despite the name of my department, although I do come from a quantitative background. Current work is centered on content analysis, interview data and queer and feminist methods. I’m an Ethnomethodologist (or, given my gothiness, “Deathnomethodologist”) and Symbolic Interactionist, with a bit of critical theory thrown in for good measure.

I can be contacted for random questions, speaking engagements and offers of high-value cheques at okeyes @ uw . edu. Please note my title is “Mx”, not “Ms”, “Miss”, “Mr”, so on and so forth - I’ll also answer to “Doctor” but it’s a wee bit premature ;).