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How to conceptualize, design and interpret a research project involving…
How to conceptualize, design and interpret a research project involving identifying and counting discourse phenomena in a corpus of computer-mediated text
As background to the remainder of the chapter, it is useful to think of CMDA as applying to four domains or levels of language, ranging prototypically from smallest to largest linguistic unit of analysis.
One version of CMDA approach based on the coding and counting paradigm of classical content analysis, identify a set of conceptual skills necessary for carrying out a successful analysis.
The social level includes linguistic expressions of play, conflict, power and group membership over multiple exchanges.
At the meaning level are included the meanings of words, utterances (e.g., speech acts) and functional units (e.g., macrosegments)
Structural phenomena include the use of special typography or orthography, novel word formations, and sentence structure.
The interactional level includes turn-taking, topic development, and other means of negotiating interactive exchanges.
In addition, participation patterns as measured by frequency and length of messages posted and responses received in threads or other extended discourse samples constitute a fifth domain of CMDA analysis.
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Rather, CMDA approach allows diverse theories about discourse and computer-mediated communication to be entertained and tested.
Moreover, although its overall methodological orientation can be characterized, it is not a single method but rather a set of methods from which the researcher selects those best suited to her data and research questions.
In short, CMDA as an approach to researching online behavior provides a methodological toolkit and a set of theoretical lenses through which to make observations and interpret the results of the empirical analysis.
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- It is assumed that discourse exhibits recurrent patterns. Patterns in discourse may be produced consciously or unconsciously; in the latter case a speaker is not necessarily aware of what she is doing, and thus direct observation may produce more reliable generalizations than a self-report of her behavior.
- To these two assumptions about discourse, CMDA adds a third assumption about online communication: computer mediated discourse may be, but is not inevitably, shaped by the technological features of computer mediated communication systems. It is a matter of empirical investigation in what ways, to what extent, and under what circumstances CMC technologies shape the communication that takes place through them.
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- It is assumed that discourse involves speaker choices. These choices are not conditioned by purely linguistic considerations, but rather reflect cognitive and social factors. It follows from this assumption that discourse analysis provide insight into non-linguistic, as well as linguistic, phenomena.
The basic methodological orientation of CMDA is language focused content analysis. This may be purely qualitative - observations of discourse phenomena in a sample of text may be made, illustrated, and discussed - or quantitative - phenomena may be coded and counted, and summaries of their relative frequencies produced.
As with other forms of content analysis, the CMDA researcher must meet some certain basic requirements in order to conduct a successful analysis. She must select methods that address the research question, and apply them to a sufficient and appropriate corpus of data.