Collaboratory on Digital Equity Research
Through empirical research in digital humanities and social sciences, CODER endeavors to inform public culture, policy, practice, and everyday social relations to create a more equitable and just society.
We aim to bring together researchers from across the digital humanities and social sciences who mobilize their research toward social justice goals.
Our research projects center on digital dilemmas, such as:
- How do we theorise the influence of diverse virtual voices for people who experience inequality, inequity and/or (in)justice?
- How can innovative methodologies enable new insights into the social transformation of gender relations, digital cultures, and social justice?
- How is digital technology shaping relationships between diverse publics – citizens, communities, activists, policy makers – in terms of working toward social justice?
As a collaboratory — which is a blend of the words “collaboration” and “laboratory” — we are “a center without walls, in which […] researchers can perform their research without regard to physical location, interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources, [and] accessing information in digital libraries.”*
* Wulf, W. (1993) The collaboratory opportunity. Science, 261, 854-855.
CODER’s Safety Map for Dating Apps is a research-driven digital tool that helps users navigate online dating through a safety and social-justice lens.
Grounded in digital humanities and social science research, it compares dating platforms by their policies, protections, and impacts on diverse communities—making visible the power dynamics that shape digital intimacy. By centering equity, transparency, and informed choice, the Safety Map supports safer, more inclusive digital relationship spaces.