RIS was formed in 2021 and engages in research activities in the information sciences in New Zealand. RIS conducts applied research to acquire new knowledge, identify underlying phenomena through observation in order to understand, solve, or explain specific research objectives. RIS research includes development or experimental development by researching existing academic literature in search of current research methods, to create new knowledge through a systematic method of producing and installing new processes, methods, approaches, systems, or services to improve, extend, or build on existing methods and knowledge.
Founder of RIS, Johanna Richardson built the “My Favourite Place” platform and web application that is currently being used by herself and other researchers to source data for ongoing research at Massey University, New Zealand.
Johanna Richardson is degree qualified, holding a Master of Information Sciences with Merit (2021) from Massey University, New Zealand. Her thesis focused on Geoinformatics and User Interface Design, specifically discussing sense of place and user interface design variables in web interfaces such as the “My Favourite Place” web application that she built while as a master’s degree student at Massey. She has a passion for maps, information technology, user interface design, and topics in the platial sciences such as sense of place, environmental management, favourite places, GIS, and volunteered geographic information. Johanna also holds a professional early career researcher (ECR) member status with the Royal Society Te Apārangi, an associate member of the Institue of IT Professionals NZ, a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Sciences with Distinction (2017) from Massey University, and a Diploma in Writing Your First Novel, with Merit (2017) from the New Zealand Institute of Business Studies.
