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this seems to be a worthwhile undertaking would you be willing to post your results for list members to read and respond to? -----Original Message----- From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Linda Kohlman Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2005 12:32 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Graduate Research Study PHD Design List Members: I am a graduate student in the Communication and Technology Department (MACT) at the University of Alberta in Canada. www2.extension.ualberta.ca/mact/index.aspx I’m presently working on my final-research project titled Understanding Micro-Community Interaction Patterns. This project is being done to complete a Master of Arts in Communication and Technology. My project is a cyber-ethnographic study of a public online list community’s interaction-conversation dialogue. In this case, I have selected the PHD-Design List as the focus of my study. I have reviewed this proposed study with the List owners and have been given permission from them to proceed with the research. I am writing to inform the List members of my intention to study samplings of List’s conversations in archive and real-time form. I will begin the real time observation portion of the study October 20, 2005 and the observation will continue for a maximum of 6 months. In this case study all identifying details, including the identity of the List itself will be removed. All identifying demarcations such as real names and usernames will be removed and will be attributed to anonymous Participant 5, Participant 8, etc. In the first step of the study, I will contact the 15+ most often contributing List members to invite them to participate. Participation in the study will be quite painless and will take approximately 15 minutes of your time. All participants will remain anonymous. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this research project, feel free to contact myself, my supervisor, or the Chair of the Education and Extension Research Ethics Board (EEA REB) at the University of Alberta. Linda Kohlman (researcher) [log in to unmask] Dr. Katy Campbell (supervisor) [log in to unmask] Associate Dean, Faculty of Extension Uinversity of Alberta 780 492 1858 Dr. Carolyn Yewchuk (chair) [log in to unmask] Chair, Education and Extension Research Ethics Board University of Alberta 780 492 3751 Thanking you in advance for your support and cooperation. Regards, Linda Kohlman --------------------------------------- Study Summary My research project titled Understanding Micro-Community Interaction Patterns is being undertaken to complete a Master of Arts in Communication and Technology. My project is a cyber-ethnographic study of a public online list community’s interaction-conversation dialogue. In this case, I have selected the PHD-Design List as the focus of my study. The purpose of the study is to better understand the nature of an online groups’ interaction dialogue. This research project seeks to answer two questions: - What are the group communication-interaction dynamics-taking place within the PHD Design List? - What are the relationships between the group communication interaction dynamics and innovation? This study has two parts: Part 1 of the study involves collecting, observing, reviewing and analyzing approximately 5-10 percent of the total List archived and real time postings from 15+ List members. I will invite the 15+ most often contributing List members to participate in this study. From the outset of the data collection, all postings in the study sample will be attributed to Participant 5, Participant 8, etc. The purpose of this part of the study is to analyze the posting patterns of the sample group. The data collection portion of this study will begin on October 20, 2005 and end, on or before, April 20, 2006. Part 2 of the study seeks to understand the cognitive styles/problem solving preferences of each participant in the sample. In this regard, the folks at Basadur Center for Applied Creativity Research have agreed to allow each of the 15+ study participants to use the Basadur Creative Problem Solving Profile instrument (online or off-line) once, free-of charge. The purpose of this part of the study is to determine how the participant problem solving profiles of the sample group relate to the posting patterns of the sample group. In this part of the study the posting patterns of participants in the sample group will be linked to their profile results using numbers rather than personal names. Throughout this entire study, all collected data will be kept anonymous. More information on the Basadur Creative Problem Solving Profile Tool can be found at: Basadur website: www.basadur.com Basadur Profile information: www.basadur.com/profile/index.htm The profile is quite simple to take and requires approximately 15 minutes to complete. Most individuals find their profile results to be personally interesting and useful. Anonymity All identifying details, such as real names and usernames will be removed and substituted with numbers from the outset of the data collection and for the final report. All identifying information will be destroyed after the data collection/posting/profile linking phase of the study. I will also not disclose the List’s name or Internet address in my report. In the case where it is important to include the content of your posting in the final report, I will paraphrase your posting (s) to maintain your anonymity. In the event that it is important to include the posting-word for word in the final report, I will re-contact you to obtain additional consent. “The plan for this study has been reviewed for its adherence to ethical guidelines and approved by the Faculties of Education, Extension and Augustana Research Ethics Board (EEA REB) at the University of Alberta. For questions regarding participant rights and ethical conduct of research, contact the Chair of the EEA REG at 780 492 3751.” Participation There are no anticipated risks to involvement to those who appear in the sample studied. Consenting participants will be offered the opportunity to take a free of charge – online or offline cognitive style profile. List participants are free to withdraw from the study at any time for any reason. Outcome I hope that your participation will contribute to the advancement and creation of knowledge regarding Understanding Micro-Community Interaction Patterns. I’m optimistic that this study will result in a better understanding of online community List dynamics and recommendations for how communication-interaction might be improved in the future. I will make a copy of the final report available to those List participants who are interested.