Internet and social media research has created new methodological opportunities for educational and social sciences, but also new ethical challenges. In many ways, current research ethics guidelines and legislation are still limited and provisional. In this chapter, we address ethical considerations emerging from a research project based on a…

New technologies transform research specialties and potentiate new fields. Sociometers--wearable electronic sensors collecting quantitative, dynamic data about embodied social interactions at hyperfine scales--represent such a possibility for small group research. This article introduces this new method and its distinctive qualities and…

Standardized interviewing (SI) and conversational interviewing are two approaches to collect survey data that differ in how interviewers address respondent confusion. This article examines interviewer-respondent interactions that occur during these two techniques, focusing on requests for and provisions of clarification. The data derive from an…

This study proposes a new method named the IIS-map-based method for analyzing interactions in face-to-face collaborative learning settings. This analysis method is conducted in three steps: firstly, drawing an initial IIS-map according to collaborative tasks; secondly, coding and segmenting information flows into information items of IIS; thirdly,…

This paper introduces a new method for the detection of patterns or phases in small groups based on fuzzy pattern recognition procedures. It tells how the method provides an accurate description of all the patterns of group interaction, detects rather than assumes the number of patterns and their length, and is based on fuzzy set theory so that it…

The implications of the dialectical perspective for research methodology are reviewed and illustrated with examples from research on memory and memory development. Three conversations or dialogues are described: within the researcher, between the researcher and the research participants, and between the researcher and social-historical context. It…

The activities involved in coding conversation sequences and the lack of attention given to their systematic validation within the field of speech communication are discussed in this paper. The paper first reviews briefly the assumptions underlying relational coding and the implications of viewing these activities as practical accomplishments. It…

Investigates whether a variation in task content (focusing on instrumental/external family issues v emotional expressive/internal issues) influences family interaction when task structure is held constant. The responses of 64 well-adjusted family triads were scored for differences in conflict, dominance, and affect. (Author/SS)

When performing a classification study, it is often useful to leave a residue of unclassified entities to be analyzed separately. Using an interactional paradigm, theoretical reasoning for this approach is outlined. A procedure--RESIDAN--for conducting a classification analysis using a residue is described, and empirical data are provided. (TJH)

Questions about students' competence in classrooms are addressed in three parts: the suitability of ethnography as a research strategy, a summary of research that examines the social organization of classroom events, and the consequences of this organization for students' performance in the classroom. The discussion of methodology leads to the…

Reported is an observational analysis process termed "macroanalysis" which involves the analysis of interactive dialogue in chains or sequences of coded behavior rather than in terms of conventional matrices and ratios. All existing 3-, 4-, and 5-tally chains are extracted directly from an observer's coded tallies. This paper includes a…

Uses an Israeli incident to illustrate the value of exchange theory in understanding the relationship between protest group leaders and reporters. (FL)

Interviewers and respondents judged interview interactions during a survey of drug-related sentiments. Pronounced variability in interviewer-respondent judgements occurred in unanticipated ways related to gender, role, and ethnicity of participants. Positive interaction yielded different respondent cognitions and reports of illicit drug ingestion…

Results indicate that the various media experiences were generally described in neutral terms. Desirability, productivity, and discomfort varied according to the procedure. Differences in recording and replay medium did not affect the degree of discomfort in relation to the media experiences. (Author)

Written transcripts of spouses' discussions were coded using two different systems. Findings indicate that the results obtained from one coding system cannot easily be compared with results obtained from the other system. Author calls for resolution of differences in coding procedures if relational communication research is to be usefully…