These are some of the research questions the Knowledge Socialization project addresses.

The primary question of this research is:
How can the use of stories contribute to the tacit-to-tacit transfer of knowledge, and how can technology be used most effectively to support that effort?

We expect this project to be of immediate practical value to IBM in terms of answering research questions surrounding the use of stories in IBM's knowledge management effort. The project will also contribute to the knowledge of the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Knowledge Management (KM) communities concerning the use of stories in business contexts.

We have focused on these questions.

How best can stories that contribute to tacit knowledge transfer be:

• constructed?
  • How do people construct stories? How does this vary among individuals and situations?
  • What methods of story construction are appropriate for what audiences and purposes?
  • What is the social context of story construction? How does it affect the story constructed?
  • How does the use of computer technology affect story construction?
  • What are the qualities of tools and technologies that aid in story construction?
  • How do stories evolve over time? How does story construction change after the original storytelling?
  • What are the qualities of tools and technologies that support continuing story evolution?
• elicited?
  • How do effective story elicitors elicit effective stories?
  • What is the social context of story elicitation? How does this affect the stories elicited?
  • How do different elicitation techniques affect the stories produced?
  • How does the use of computer technology affect story elicitation?
  • What are the qualities of tools and technologies that aid in story elicitation?
• organized and indexed?
  • How do people organize and index stories in their minds? How does this vary among individuals?
  • What are the best ways to organize groups of stories for different purposes and audiences? Which organizational methods have the most practical merit?
  • What role(s) should human effort play in organizing and delivering stories? What role(s) can be taken on by computer tools?
  • What are the qualities of tools and technologies that can help with these tasks?
• navigated?
  • How do people choose among stories? How do they navigate the large bodies of information that stories encode? How do people vary in this activity?
  • What is the best way to help people find the story they want to find? What cues are the most important to present?
  • What are the qualities of representations that can adequately summarize stories to allow effective story retrieval for a particular purpose?
  • What are the qualities of tools and technologies that support representation of stories for effective navigation and retrieval?
• presented?
  • How do people experience stories? How are story experiences recalled? How do story experiences affect the recall and use of stories?
  • What are the qualities of tools and technologies that support effective story use and recall?
  • What social interactions are involved in the presentation and experiencing of stories?
  • What are the qualities of tools and technologies that support the social interactions that surround storytelling?

• What insights can be gained about storytelling and story use in organizations?
• How can organizations develop stronger storytelling cultures?
• What activities will lead to increased use of storytelling in organizations?
• What are the qualities of tools or technologies that support storytelling traditions?
• How can the quality of storytelling in an organization be enhanced?
• What are the qualities of tools or technologies that might aid in improving storytelling skills?