Turam Purty

Ph.D. Candidate

turamp@uw.edu

Off-Campus

Specializations

 Quantitative Methods
 Qualitative Methods
 Mixed-Methods Research

Research Areas

Biography

I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle, USA). My research examines how shared ownership of online data is shaped through practices of collection, use, and disclosure in public repositories; how attribution mechanisms (e.g., data licenses and embedded metadata) are implemented and maintained across the data lifecycle; and how encoding and decoding approaches can preserve privacy and support data sovereignty as datasets move through distributed information systems and GenAI pipelines. I use mixed methods and participatory design to surface tacit digital practices among diverse stakeholders and translate findings into actionable research and policy recommendations.

Awards

qacagʷac Award - Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies(CAIIS), University of Washington, 2023-2023
NSF iCorps Customer Discovery Award - University of Washington CoMotion Incubation Lab, 2020-2020
WeObserve Open Data Challenge - EU Horizon Grant 2020, #776740, 2020-2020
Faculty Award for Student Excellence - Information School, MSIM Program, 2020

Publications and Contributions

Journal Article, Professional Journal

Cultivating a space for intergenerational research mentorship through Knowledge Families (2024)
Wicazo Sa Review, 37(1), pp. 1-28 Authors: Clarita Lefthand-Begay, Nicole Kuhn, Turam Purty, Tessa Rose Campbell, Shawon Sarkar, Jesse Brisbois, Robin Ruhm, Kunsang Choden Lama, Ana Rodriguez, Celina Ghost Dog, Jean M Dennison, Shayla Chatto, Ruonan Guo
Journal Article, Academic Journal

Insights from Reflexivity on Strengthening Water Security in Tribal Communities through Collaborative Approaches (2024)
Indigenous Public Humanities Authors: Clarita Lefthand-Begay, Turam Purty, M Williams, S Carl
Instructor's Manual

Research Methods for Informatics Undergraduate Students: A Lab Workbook (2023)
Authors: Clarita Lefthand-Begay, Jesse Brisbois, Julie Emory, W.E. King, Kunsang Choden Lama, Claire Indermaur McDonald, Nataliya Muzyka, Punya Prakash Shetty, Turam Purty, Aditya Singh, Zening Qu
Journal Article, Academic Journal

Cultivating a Space for Intergenerational Directed Research Groups for Indigenous Students and Allies through Indigenous Knowledge Families (2022)
Wicazo Sa Review, 37(1-2), pp. 1-28, ISBN/ISSN: 1533-7901 Authors: Clarita Lefthand-Begay, Nicole S. Kuhn, Turam Purty, Tessa R. Campbell, Shawon Sarkar, Jesse Brisbois, Robin Ruhm, Kunsang Choden, Ana Rodriguez, Celena J. Ghost Dog, Jean M. Dennison, Shayla Chatto, Rona Guo
Journal Article, Academic Journal

A light‐touch routing optimization tool (RoOT) for vaccine and medical supply distribution in Mozambique (2021)
International Transactions in Operational Research, 28(5), pp. 2334-2358, ISBN/ISSN: 0969-6016 Authors: Larissa P.G. Petroianu, Zelda B. Zabinsky, Mariam Zameer, Yi Chu, Mamiza M. Muteia, Mauricio G.C. Resende, Aida L. Coelho, Jiarui Wei, Turam Purty, Abel Draiva, Alvaro Lopes

Presentations

Indigenous-led assessment of water security: A study on water perceptions in the Akiak Native Community (2025)
2nd International Sociohydrology Conference - Japan
Validation of Usability Heuristics for Citizen and Community Science Practitioners (2024)
iConference Proceedings - Chanchung, China
Tribal Water Sovereignty & Security Panel (2023)
ATNI’s Changing Currents Tribal Water Summit - Coos Bay, Oregon
Sarjom Project: Development of CitSci Manager, an open-source tool for open citizen science datasets (2020)
Proceedings of the Citizen Science Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Conference - Berlin, Germany