Patterns of interaction in a computer conference transcript

Patrick J. Fahy, Gail Crawford, Mohamed Ally

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    102 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    An analysis of the interaction patterns in an online conference from a distance education graduate course was conducted, using an approach that focused on the transcript's interactional and structural features. A new tool for transcript analysis, the TAT (Transcript Analysis Tool), was used to analyze interactional features, while structural elements suggested by social network theory were examined. Analysis of the patterns of interaction in the conference showed interaction was variable, and that while all participants were engaged, intensity and persistence of participation were unequal among individual participants in several ways. The TAT showed the proportions of five major types of sentences in the transcript, corresponding to different modes of interaction (questions, statements, reflections, engaging comments, and quotations/citations). The findings showed that the TAT seemed to relate usefully to other work in this area, and that social network principles were valuable in the analysis of conference interaction.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)107-127
    Number of pages21
    JournalInternational Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning
    Volume2
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jul. 2001

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