Núria Ferran Ferrer

Núria Ferran Ferrer is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media at the University of Barcelona, where she has been employed since 2021. In July 2023, she was appointed as Delegate of the Rector for the direction of the Unit of Equality and as Director of the PhD Programme of Information and Communication. Her academic career spans over two decades, with previous positions including associated lecturer at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (2005-2021) and part-time professor at multiple Catalan universities.

Her educational background includes:

• European PhD in Information Science from the University of Barcelona (2010) with "excellent cum laude" distinction
• Master's degree in Information and Knowledge Society from IN3-UOC (2005)
• Bachelor's degree in Information and Documentation from UOC (2003)
• Bachelor's degree in Journalism from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (1998)

Núria Ferran Ferrer's research primarily focuses on gender bias in digital knowledge production systems, particularly Wikipedia, and the application of user experience (UX) design principles to information systems. Her work bridges the gap between information science, gender studies, and digital humanities, examining how knowledge organization systems perpetuate or challenge gender inequalities. She has conducted extensive research on Wikipedia's front page, category systems, and editorial processes from a gender perspective, while also exploring the application of UX methodologies to citizen science and open educational resources. Her approach combines computational analysis, content analysis, and qualitative interviews with Wikipedia editors to develop comprehensive understandings of gender representation in digital knowledge spaces.

Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on gender bias in Wikipedia, with particular attention to front page representation, category systems, and editorial decision-making. These works employ mixed-methods approaches combining computational analysis, content analysis, and qualitative interviews with Wikipedia editors. The research spans multiple language editions of Wikipedia, with particular focus on Spanish, English, and Catalan editions, and often involves interdisciplinary collaboration with computer scientists, information scientists, and gender studies scholars. Her work has significantly advanced understanding of how gender biases manifest in digital knowledge systems and has provided evidence-based recommendations for addressing these systemic issues.

She has received significant research funding for her work on gender and Wikipedia:

• Principal Investigator for the HerStory project (Spain's National R&D&I Plan, Ref. PID2023-147673OB-I00)
• Principal Investigator for the Women and Wikipedia (W&W) project (Spain's National R&D&I Plan, Ref. PID2020-116936RA-I00)
• Principal Investigator for the Cover Women project (Wikimedia Foundation Research Grants)
• Participation in European projects including Euryka (H2020-SC6-REV-INEQUAL-2016) and STEM4Youth (H2020-710577)

Núria Ferran Ferrer serves as co-director of academic journal BiD and has been actively involved in supervising PhD students, particularly in the context of her research projects on Wikipedia and gender. She has collaborated with international research teams and has conducted research stays at the University of Sheffield (2009) and the University of Tallin (2015). Her work with the Espais Crítics research group (2017 SGR 843 SCG) demonstrates her commitment to critical approaches to information systems. She has also been instrumental in developing practical resources like the "Guia de la Xarxa Vives per a la Incorporació de la perspectiva de gènere a la docència de Ciències de la Informació i la Biblioteconomia" to translate research findings into educational applications.

She is a member of the Centre de Recerca Informació, Comunicació i Cultura and has been instrumental in developing collaborative projects between academia and cultural institutions, particularly libraries. Her approach emphasizes the societal impact of research and the importance of translating academic findings into practical applications that promote social change, particularly through her work with the Cover Women and HerStory projects which directly address gender disparities in Wikipedia.