Investigating the impact of computer conferencing: content analysis as a manageable research tool

Content analysis of computer conferences provides a rich source of data for researching and understanding online learning. However the complexities of using content analysis in a relatively new research field have resulted in researchers avoiding its use as a qualitative or quantitative method and using more familiar methods such as survey and interview instead. Ethical issues are also raised that, though ensuring students’ rights, particularly to privacy and with no fear of coercion, are making it difficult for researchers to access and analyse archives of conference data as a research source. This paper suggests a pragmatic but systematic approach to solving these research issues by using several research strategies that are described in the context of the authors’ research and practice.<br />