Her research interests flow across the areas of archives and material cultural. An ongoing research focus is the study of the nature, meaning, and function of everyday writing, recording, and recordkeeping (with a particular focus on organizational document creation and use, and the role of written literacies in the lives of children and young adults). Another research strand looks at how and why individuals and institutions collect material culture, the intersection of material culture and information behavior, and digital materiality including the study of the artifactual nature of computers, computer systems, and digital objects. Ciaran also studies the nature of archival work and work practices (including how technology can help support the work of curating and providing access to archival collections).