Susan G. Straus

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Behavioral Scientist
Pittsburgh Office

Education

Ph.D. and M.A. in industrial/organizational psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; B.A. in psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Overview

Biography

Susan Straus is a behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation and an adjunct associate professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Straus's research addresses the social impacts of information and communication technologies. Specific research interests include collaborative technologies for distributed teams, distributed learning, and health information technology. Current and recent projects include an evaluation of a computerized eReferral system for accessing specialty care; a longitudinal study investigating acceptance and use of wireless communication devices (BlackBerries) in law enforcement teams; and an evaluation of the effectiveness of U.S. Army's distributed learning program. Straus has published her work in RAND reports as well as journals such as Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Small Group Research, and Human-Computer Interaction. She currently serves on the editorial board of Group Dynamics. Straus received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • Adoption of mobile communication and information technology in law enforcement teams
  • Use of an electronic referral system to improve the outpatient primary care-specialty care interface
  • Improving the quality of Army distributed learning
  • Testing the effects of group interaction in analysis
  • Building an implementation toolset for e-prescribing

Selected Publications

S. G. Straus et al., Mobile Technology and Action Teams: Assessing Blackberry Use in Law Enforcement Units, RAND Corporation (WR-458), 2007

J. M. Wilson et al., "All in Due Time: The Development of Trust in Electronic and Face-to-Face Teams," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 99, 2006

S. G. Straus et al., The Effectiveness of Distributed Learning: A Research and Policy Agenda for the U.S. Army, RAND Corporation (OP-156), 2006

F. Olivera and S. G. Straus, "Group-to-Individual Transfer of Learning: Cognitive and Social Factors," Small Group Research, 35, 2004

R. Anderson et al., Effective Use of Information Technology: Lessons About State Governance Structures and Processes, RAND Corporation (MR-1704), 2003

S. G. Straus et al., "The Effects of Videoconference, Telephone, and Face-to-Face Media on Judgments in Employment Interviews," Journal of Management, 27, 2001

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: CNN; New York Times; Shrink Rap

Publications

Making Improvements to The Army Distributed Learning Program - 2012

Alert and Ready: An Organizational Design Assessment of Marine Corps Intelligence - 2011

Assessment of Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI) Courseware Can Enhance Army Training - 2011

ExpertLens: A System for Eliciting Opinions from a Large Pool of Non-Collocated Experts with Diverse Knowledge - 2011

Implementation of an Electronic Referral System for Outpatient Specialty Care - 2011

Meaningful Use of Electronic Prescribing in 5 Exemplar Primary Care Practices - 2011

New Tools and Metrics for Evaluating Army Distributed Learning - 2011

Proposed Directions of Change to the Common Rule for Protecting Human Research Participants: RAND Responses - 2011

The Group Matters: A Review of Processes and Outcomes in Intelligence Analysis - 2011

A Web-Based Tool for Assessing and Improving the Usefulness of Community Health Assessments - 2009

Improving the Army's Assessment of Interactive Multimedia Instruction Courseware - 2009

Mobile Technology and Action Teams: Assessing Blackberry Use in Law Enforcement Units - 2009

The Group Matters: A Review of the Effects of Group Interaction on Processes and Outcomes in Analytic Teams - 2009

The Prospects for Increasing the Reuse of Digital Training Content - 2009

Assessment of the AHRQ Patient Safety Initiative: Final Report -- Evaluation Report IV - 2008

Mobile Technology and Action Teams: Assessing BlackBerry Use in Law Enforcement Units - 2007

Supporting Training Strategies for Brigade Combat Teams Using Future Combat Systems (FCS) Technologies - 2007

All in Due Time: The Development of Trust in Computer-Mediated and Face-To-Face Teams - 2006

Improving the Effectiveness of Distributed Learning: A Research and Policy Agenda - 2006

Transformation and The Army School System - 2005

Designing Assessments of Microworld Training for Combat Service Support Staff - 2004

Effective Use of Information Technology: Lessons about State Governance Structures and Processes - 2003