Methodology
This paper explores the particular difficulties that researchers encounter and the advances that they make in the struggle to extract meaning from conferencing transcripts. It is not meant to be a meta-analysis of results, but rather a review of the methodology. Our intent is to document the evolution of content analysis techniques as they have been applied by us and other researchers to analyze transcripts of asynchronous, computer mediated conferencing in formal educational settings. Hopefully, this will facilitate the larger goal of improving the quality of teaching and learning using this medium. To accomplish this, we have reviewed a sample of 14 studies that are commonly referenced in the literature. We hope that this will provide subsequent researchers with a privileged starting point for their studies and refine the application of this powerful technique.
From:
Rourke, L., Anderson, T., Garrison, D. R., & Archer, W. (2001). Methodological Issues in the Content Analysis of Computer Conference Transcripts. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 12(1), 8-22. pdf Full Text