Social Presence in Asynchronous Text-Based Online Learning Communities

330 Pages·2005·1.46 MB·English

Social Presence in Asynchronous Text-Based Online Learning Communities:
A Longitudinal Case Study using Content Analysis

Adisorn Na Ubon

Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

The University of York
Department of Computer Science
February 2005
This thesis is dedicated to my mum and dad

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Abstract
This research examines social presence in asynchronous text-based online learning
communities (OLCs). Much literature claims that such learning communities are ideal
places for meaningful learning to occur. Various technologies can be used to support
activities in these contexts but asynchronous text-based communication is probably the
most common because of its simplicity and ease of use. Social presence is a meta-theory
used to describe various aspects of OLCs. It has gained much attention recently because
of its positive impact on social interaction and learning in such contexts. However, little
research in this area has been done so far and there are some research gaps that need to
be addressed.
This research aims to gain a better understanding of online social presence. Particularly,
it focuses on the development of social presence and its impacts on learning in OLCs.
Longitudinal case study research is used, allowing social presence among online
participants to be investigated over time. The research is composed of three empirical
studies. The preliminary study aims to validate various assumptions about OLCs and to
gain a better knowledge of them. In the first part of the main study, the development of
online social presence is investigated using content analysis. Social presence in online
discussions is examined according to the social presence template. The second part of
the main study further investigates the impact of social presence on online learning. Data
obtained from the quantitative content analysis are analysed using various statistical
techniques. The template and methodological framework used to conduct these studies is
described in detail to provide guidelines for future researchers into social presence in
these contexts.
The longitudinal findings from this research support the notion that social presence is
important for both the learning process and outcomes in OLCs, and it must be promoted
among participants throughout online learning.

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Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................iii
Contents...........................................................................................................................iv
List of figures...................................................................................................................xi
List of tables...................................................................................................................xiii
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................xv
Author’s declaration....................................................................................................xvii
1 Introduction............................................................................................................1
1.1 Background..............................................................................................................1
1.2 Research context......................................................................................................3
1.3 Motivation for research............................................................................................5
1.3.1 The growth of distance education.................................................................5
1.3.2 The importance of community to learning....................................................5
1.3.3 The importance of social presence in learning community...........................5
1.3.4 The pervasiveness of asynchronous text-based computer-mediated
communication (ACMC)..............................................................................6
1.4 Scope........................................................................................................................6
1.5 Research gaps...........................................................................................................7
1.5.1 Short-term study design................................................................................7
1.5.2 Limited measurement tools...........................................................................7
1.5.3 Inadequate study in OLC contexts................................................................8
1.6 Research problem.....................................................................................................9
1.7 Research objectives................................................................................................10
1.8 Research strategy...................................................................................................10
1.9 Expected contributions...........................................................................................13
1.9.1 Findings from a longitudinal study.............................................................13
1.9.2 Modified social presence measurement tool...............................................13
1.9.3 Methodological framework.........................................................................14
1.10 Thesis overview.....................................................................................................14
1.10.1 Chapter 1: Introduction...............................................................................14
1.10.2 Chapter 2: Online learning communities (OLCs).......................................14
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1.10.3 Chapter 3: Social interaction and factors in OLCs......................................14
1.10.4 Chapter 4: Preliminary study......................................................................15
1.10.5 Chapter 5: Social presence in OLCs...........................................................15
1.10.6 Chapter 6: Research methodology..............................................................15
1.10.7 Chapter 7: Main study (Part I)....................................................................15
1.10.8 Chapter 8: Main study (Part II)...................................................................16
1.10.9 Chapter 9: Summary and conclusions.........................................................16
2 Online learning communities (OLCs)................................................................17
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................17
2.2 Learning theories....................................................................................................19
2.2.1 Constructivism............................................................................................19
2.2.2 Social constructivism..................................................................................20
2.2.3 Collaborative learning.................................................................................22
2.2.4 Situated learning..........................................................................................25
2.3 Community.............................................................................................................27
2.3.1 Community development............................................................................28
2.3.2 Learning communities.................................................................................30
2.4 Communication technologies.................................................................................32
2.4.1 Asynchronous text-based computer-mediated communication (ACMC)...33
2.4.2 How can ACMC support OLCs?................................................................34
2.4.3 Limitations of ACMC.................................................................................35
2.5 Conclusion.............................................................................................................37
3 Social interaction and factors in OLCs..............................................................39
3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................39
3.2 Social interaction....................................................................................................40
3.2.1 Student-teacher interaction..........................................................................40
3.2.2 Student-student interaction..........................................................................42
3.3 Social factors..........................................................................................................44
3.3.1 Identity........................................................................................................44
3.3.2 Trust............................................................................................................45
3.3.3 Personal relationships..................................................................................47
3.4 Potential constraints...............................................................................................48
3.4.1 Space...........................................................................................................49
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3.4.2 Time............................................................................................................50
3.4.3 Culture.........................................................................................................50
3.4.4 Language.....................................................................................................51
3.5 Face-to-face interaction..........................................................................................52
3.6 Conclusion.............................................................................................................54
4 Preliminary study.................................................................................................57
4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................57
4.2 Programme information.........................................................................................58
4.3 Methodology..........................................................................................................60
4.3.1 Survey.........................................................................................................60
4.3.2 Instrumentation...........................................................................................61
4.3.3 Reliability....................................................................................................63
4.3.4 Validity........................................................................................................63
4.3.5 Procedures...................................................................................................64
4.4 Survey findings......................................................................................................65
4.4.1 Demographics.............................................................................................66
4.4.2 Social interaction.........................................................................................66
4.4.3 Social factors...............................................................................................67
4.4.3.1 Identity........................................................................................................67
4.4.3.2 Trust............................................................................................................68
4.4.3.3 Personal relationships................................................................................69
4.4.4 Potential constraints....................................................................................70
4.4.4.1 Space constraints........................................................................................70
4.4.4.2 Time constraints.........................................................................................71
4.4.4.3 Cultural differences....................................................................................72
4.4.4.4 Language differences.................................................................................73
4.4.5 Face-to-face interaction...............................................................................74
4.5 Qualitative data......................................................................................................75
4.6 Conclusion.............................................................................................................81
5 Social presence in OLCs......................................................................................83
5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................83
5.2 Theoretical frameworks.........................................................................................85
5.2.1 Cues-filtered-out approach..........................................................................85
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5.2.1.1 Social presence model................................................................................85
5.2.1.2 Media richness model................................................................................86
5.2.1.3 Reduced social cues model........................................................................87
5.2.2 What is missing?.........................................................................................88
5.2.3 Relational approach.....................................................................................90
5.2.3.1 Social information processing model........................................................90
5.2.3.2 Equilibrium model.....................................................................................91
5.3 Classifications of social presence...........................................................................94
5.4 Social presence and learning..................................................................................97
5.4.1 Social presence in traditional classes..........................................................97
5.4.2 Social presence in distance and online classes............................................99
5.5 Social presence and gender differences...............................................................101
5.6 Social presence measurements.............................................................................103
5.7 Conclusion...........................................................................................................105
6 Research methodology.......................................................................................107
6.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................107
6.2 Research question specification...........................................................................107
6.3 Research design....................................................................................................108
6.3.1 Case study research...................................................................................110
6.3.2 Longitudinal approach..............................................................................110
6.3.3 Unit of analysis.........................................................................................111
6.4 Research Strategy.................................................................................................112
6.4.1 Main study (Part I)....................................................................................112
6.4.2 Main study (Part II)...................................................................................113
6.5 Social presence template......................................................................................115
6.5.1 The modification of social presence template...........................................115
6.5.2 The modified template..............................................................................118
6.5.2.1 Affective responses..................................................................................119
6.5.2.2 Cohesive responses..................................................................................121
6.5.2.3 Interactive responses................................................................................122
6.6 Methodological issues..........................................................................................124
6.6.1 Subjectivity...............................................................................................124
6.6.2 Generalisability.........................................................................................126
6.6.3 Ethical considerations...............................................................................126
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6.7 Conclusion...........................................................................................................128
7 Main study (Part I)............................................................................................131
7.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................131
7.2 Method.................................................................................................................131
7.2.1 Content analysis........................................................................................131
7.2.2 Criteria and the recording unit..................................................................134
7.2.2.1 Reliability.................................................................................................134
7.2.2.2 Validity.....................................................................................................135
7.2.2.3 Recording units........................................................................................137
7.3 General findings...................................................................................................138
7.4 Content analysis findings.....................................................................................141
7.4.1 Social presence: Online students...............................................................142
7.4.1.1 Affective responses..................................................................................143
7.4.1.2 Cohesive responses..................................................................................145
7.4.1.3 Interactive responses................................................................................146
7.4.2 Social presence: Online tutors...................................................................147
7.4.2.1 Affective responses..................................................................................148
7.4.2.2 Cohesive responses..................................................................................149
7.4.2.3 Interactive responses................................................................................149
7.5 A review of the qualitative data...........................................................................151
7.5.1 Social presence: Online students...............................................................151
7.5.2 Social presence: Online tutors...................................................................163
7.6 Summary and discussion......................................................................................170
7.7 Conclusion...........................................................................................................174
8 Main study (Part II)...........................................................................................177
8.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................177
8.2 Hypotheses...........................................................................................................178
8.3 Methods................................................................................................................179
8.3.1 Assumption testing....................................................................................180
8.3.1.1 Independent samples t-test.......................................................................180
8.3.1.2 Regression analysis..................................................................................181
8.4 Findings................................................................................................................182
8.4.1 Comparative tests......................................................................................182
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8.4.1.1 Social presence and gender......................................................................182
8.4.1.2 Gender and active participation...............................................................184
8.4.1.3 Gender and learning outcomes................................................................184
8.4.2 Predictive tests..........................................................................................185
8.4.2.1 Social presence and active participation..................................................185
8.4.2.2 Social presence and learning outcomes...................................................188
8.4.2.3 Active participation and learning outcomes............................................191
8.5 Summary and discussion......................................................................................192
8.5.1.1 Social presence and gender......................................................................192
8.5.1.2 Gender and active participation...............................................................193
8.5.1.3 Gender and learning outcomes................................................................194
8.5.1.4 Social presence and active participation..................................................194
8.5.1.5 Social presence and learning outcomes...................................................196
8.5.1.6 Active participation and learning outcomes............................................198
8.6 Conclusion...........................................................................................................199
9 Summary and conclusions.................................................................................203
9.1 Summary of research............................................................................................203
9.1.1 Preliminary study......................................................................................203
9.1.2 Main study (Part I)....................................................................................204
9.1.3 Main study (Part II)...................................................................................205
9.2 Contributions........................................................................................................207
9.2.1 Longitudinal findings................................................................................207
9.2.2 Modified social presence measurement tool.............................................209
9.2.3 Methodological framework.......................................................................209
9.3 Evaluation............................................................................................................210
9.3.1 Findings.....................................................................................................210
9.3.2 Tool...........................................................................................................211
9.3.3 Methods.....................................................................................................212
9.4 Strengths and limitations......................................................................................213
9.4.1 Strengths....................................................................................................213
9.4.2 Limitations................................................................................................214
9.5 Conclusions..........................................................................................................215
9.5.1 The importance of social presence in OLCs.............................................215
9.5.2 The roles of online tutors in OLCs............................................................216
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9.5.3 The impact of face-to-face interaction in OLCs........................................218
9.6 Future work..........................................................................................................219
9.7 Concluding remark...............................................................................................220
Abbreviations ...............................................................................................................222
Appendix A Pre-module questionnaire..................................................................223
Appendix B Codebook for pre-module questionnaire..........................................231
Appendix C Results of experienced vs. non-experienced students......................237
Appendix D Post-module questionnaire.................................................................241
Appendix E Codebook for post-module questionnaire.........................................247
Appendix F Letter of consent..................................................................................251
Appendix G Coding guidelines................................................................................255
Appendix H Discussion threads in WebCT®..........................................................261
Appendix I ATLAS.ti® Hermeneutic Unit Editor................................................263
Appendix J Mann-Whitney U test results: Online students................................265
Appendix K Wilcoxon Signed Rank test results: Online tutors...........................269
Appendix L T-tests: Tests of normality and histograms......................................273
Appendix M Regression: Normality and scatter plots...........................................281
Appendix N Correlation coefficients: Social presence indicators........................285
Appendix O T-tests: Descriptive statistical results................................................289
References.....................................................................................................................291

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