Research Methods in Communication

1. Research Methods in Communication Cyndi-Marie Glenn

2. “College Faculty Use and Perceptions of Electronic Mail to Communicate with Students” By: Robert L. Duran, Lynne Kelly, & James A. Keaten

3. Survey Research Communication Quarterly Vol. 53, No. 2, May 2005

4. Purpose of Survey • Examine faculty -initiated e-mail with students. • Examine faculty perceptions of student’s motives for using e-mail. • Examine faculty views of the consequences of faculty-student e-mail.

5. Introduction • The purpose of the study was to help address how successful e-mail has been in fulfilling the faculty-student relationship. • In spite of the potential of e-mail to enhance faculty-student interaction, there is a limited amount of actual research on e-mail exchange between faculty and students.

6. Review of the Literature • 2 Previous studies of college students using e-mail but none of faculty. • Previous studies showed that e-mail does not increase interaction between students and teachers it simply changes how they interact.

7. Research Questions Examined by the Study • First 2 questions in the study were about the amount of e-mail usage. • Q1. From the viewpoint of faculty, how frequent is faculty-student e-mail interaction? • Q2. How many of the e-mail exchanges do faculty perceive they initiate?

8. Research Questions Examined by the Study • The next 2 questions in the study focused on faculty’s perceptions of why e-mail is used. • Q3. What motives do faculty report for initiating e-mail contact with students? • Q4. What do faculty perceive to be students’ motives for initiating e-mail contact?

9. Research Questions Examined by the Study • The last question asked by the study had to do faculty’s opinions about e-mail as a communication tool. • Q5. How do faculty members feel about the use of e-mail as a channel of communication between faculty and students?

10. Methods - Procedure • Faculty at 2 universities surveyed, 1 private and 1 public. • Faculty sent surveys via campus mail systems. • Responses were anonymous. • Survey took 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

11. Methods - Procedure • Sample was a total of 259 participants. • 124 participants from private and 135 from public universities. • Response Rates Low! • 37% from private and 31% from public schools.

12. Methods - Measures • Questionnaire contained 4 sections. • Section 1 - Assessed how much faculty used e-mail. • Section 2 - Asked faculty’s thoughts on motives for e-mail communication. • Section 3 - Inquired about faculty’s overall feelings about e-mail as a communication channel. • Section 4 - Asked about demographic items.

13. Data Analysis • Faculty responses were brief and entire answers were coded. • Answers coded into 3 categories with a 97% agreement ratio. • Answers coded by student research assistant blind to the survey and the authors of the study.

14. Results • 3 Likert scales used for study. • First examined faculty e-mail motives scale with 9 items. • Second examined perceived student e-mail motives with 15 items. • Third examined the consequences of faculty-student e-mail with 14 items.

15. Research Questions Results - Quantitative • Faculty get on average, 15 e-mails per week from their students. • Faculty return 95% of student’s e-mails. • Faculty send on average 7 e-mails per week to their students. • Female faculty get far more e-mail than do their male counterparts.

16. Research Question Results - Quantitative • Reasons faculty initiate e-mail to students: to make appointments, ask student to contact them, or to clarify course content. • Reasons faculty perceive to be student’s motives for e-mail usage: excuses on late or missing work, concern for grades, excuses on missed classes, and clarification of course content.

17. Research Questions Results - Qualitative • Thematic content analysis of faculty perceptions of e-mail use as means to communicate with students was put into 3 categories. • These were the open-ended questions asked on the survey. • The 3 categories were: Positive responses, Negative responses, and mixed responses. • Mixed responses were when faculty said it was positive but they also referenced a negative aspect as well.

18. Wrap-up and Ideas • Good study and many new ideas for future research. • Study was limited to only regular classes not “Blackboard” or computer aided classes so results may vary with a more computer savvy set of students and faculty. • Idea of female faculty getting far more e-mails than males is interesting and deserves a closer look.

19. Final Thought Little is known about the consequences of computer-mediated faculty-student interaction but it is apparent that this medium is increasingly available for such interactions so it is imperative, therefore, that we investigate how best to communicate with our students via e-mail, trying to understand how to match communication channels and content with student needs and communication styles.

20. The End! Thank you for being a good audience and have a nice day.