ComputerMediated Communication

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Computer-Mediated Communication

• Quantitative analysis of CMC
• (and some qualitative, too)

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Email
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Setting up a spam filter
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Apple Mail
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GMail
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G. Venolia
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Fiore Smith 2001
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Email as a habitat

• I dont want to file that yet, because its
  active there are things that are happening as a
  result of that. Its easier for me to find it. So
  I want to keep in my in box, keep it current.
• participant from Whittaker Sidner

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Email as a habitat

• Email is the best thats ever happened for
  covering your ass because while the guys on
  the phone, he says, well, I sent that to you a
  week and a half ago, and you think, shit, I never
  saw that. But you say, really? Yeah, oh yeah, I
  remember reading that, as youre reading it.
• participant from Whittaker Sidner

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Online dating
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Ah, love
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Women
Men
Widowed Separated Divorced Married In a
relationship Never married (Invalid) Prefer not
to answer
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Women
Men
Widowed Separated Divorced Married In a
relationship Never married (Invalid) Prefer not
to answer
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• Do you want children?
•  Does not want children
•  Wants children
•  Undecided
•  Prefer not to answer

• Educational level?
• High school
•  Some college
•  College graduate
•  Some post-college
•  Masters
•  Doctorate
•  Graduate degree
•  Prefer not to answer

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• Do you want children?
•  Does not want children (24)
•  Wants children (25)
•  Undecided (22)
•  Prefer not to answer (30)

• Educational level?
•  High school (15)
•  Some college (37)
•  College graduate (23)
•  Some post-college (4)
•  Masters (0)
•  Doctorate (0)
•  Graduate degree (7)
•  Prefer not to answer (13)

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Synthesis
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Choosing Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches
and Understanding Inductive and Deductive
Research
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How versus Why

• How do you write a paper?
• How do you use your computer?

Why do you write a paper? Why do you use your
computer?
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Which Methodological Approach is Appropriate?

• Depends on the Nature of the Research Problem and
  Question.
• Understanding a concept because there is little
  or no existing research on the topic
• Identifying various factors which influence a
  specific outcome
• Develop an understanding of a concept (or
  concepts) and be able to generalize findings to
  the larger population

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Elements of Inquiry
Knowledge Claims Strategies of
Inquiry Methods
Approaches to Research
Design Process
Questions Data collection Data analysis
Qualitative Quantitative Mixed Methods
Adapted from (Creswell 2003)
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Inductive Logic of Research in Qualitative Studies
Generalizations are made, or Theories to Past
Experience And Literature
Researcher Looks for Broad Patterns,
Generalizations, or Theories from Themes or
Categories
Researcher Analyzes Data to Form Themes Or
Categories
Researcher Asks Open-Ended Questions of
Participants Or Records Field Notes
Researcher Gathers Information
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The Deductive Approach in Typical Quantitative
Research
Researcher Tests or Verifies a Theory
Researcher Tests Hypotheses or Research
Questions From the Theory
Researcher Defines and Operationalizes Variables
Derived from the Theory
Researcher Measures or Observes Variables Using
an Instrument to Obtain Scores
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This week
Prof. Judith Donath Sociable Media Group MIT
Media Lab Tomorrow Distinguished Lecture 4
p.m., 202 South Hall Thursday Speaking in
class 1230 p.m., right here