Timothy Savage

Review: Cross-cultural analysis in online community research: A literature review

Cross-cultural online community research can support theoretical generalizability, increase methodological robustness and give insights into user online behavior. The objective of this paper is to review the existing literature on comparative cross-cultural online community research in order to investigate the current state of the literature, extract conceptual patterns and identify methodological and emergent issues. This will inform the development of the field, map out research delimiters, and set out guidelines for future research. The findings from the literature review demonstrated five key areas of methodological difficulty in cross-cultural online community comparative analysis; sampling form, country selection, number of cultures compared, participant type and interpretation of data. Key themes that emerged from the literature included the use of the nation state as a unit of culture, a lack of definition of the concept of online community, and the impact of current theory on cross-cultural online community analyses. Recommendations in the areas of methodology, definition and theory are provided. These findings should be of interest to both specific online community researchers, and those in other multidisciplinary fields where online communities are being used as a research environment.

Using robotic technology as a constructionist mindtool in knowledge construction

The knowledge society brings its own challenges and demands upon its citizens. Key amongst these is the need to empower people to become lifelong learners, to reflect upon their own learning, to become problem solvers and to appreciate technology. We record the experiences of an innovative project using a constructionist mindtool approach in a module on logic, robotics, and programming for nontechnical third level students.

Ethical considerations for educational research in a virtual world

The combination of features in virtual worlds provides an opportunity to implement and research unique learning experiences. With increasing interest and activity from the educational research community, exploring virtual worlds for teaching and learning, there is a need to identify and understand the ethical implications of conducting research in these new environments. This paper examines the traditional ethical concerns within the context of educational research in virtual worlds and identifies how the features of the technology give rise to new ethical dilemmas in the areas of informed consent, privacy protection and identity.

What is, Becomes What is Right: A Conceptual Framework of Newcomer Legitimacy for Online Discussion Communities

Online community newcomers can face challenges in community participation, acceptance and fostering member relationships. Consequently, a crucial behavioral strategy for community acceptance identified by previous research is legitimacy. However, current conceptions lack classification and structure, and have a narrow focus. A broader scope for investigating legitimacy is needed for improved theoretical and practical application. This research expands on newcomer legitimacy by classifying newcomer behavior in 4 parenting and cycling discussion communities using directed content analysis. The analysis developed a newcomer legitimacy conceptual framework with categories including geographical, contextual, cultural, testimonial, lurking and external legitimacy. This research offers a valuable contribution by classifying existing theory, developing new theory, and providing a conceptual framework to guide future studies of newcomer behavior.

Guidelines for Conducting Text Based Interviews in Virtual Worlds

Interviews are a staple data collection tool in social science research and in recent decades have been increasingly formalised and systematised. However, due to the specific affordances and constraints of virtual worlds, researchers cannot simply replicate traditional interview techniques in virtual worlds without careful consideration of the specific features of the technology. For example the prominent use of text as the medium for communication, role of the avatar, interview location and inworld objects have implications for all inworld research interviews. Building on the foundation of traditional interviews in educational research and the current literature on inworld interviews, this chapter focuses on the use of text communication tools in both one-to-one and group interviews inworld. Based on previous research by the authors the opportunities, implications, constraints and techniques for conducting text based interviews inworld are discussed. The chapter concludes with a set of guidelines for researchers considering the use of inworld text based interviews.