This iterative study examined factors that influence student engagement in an online asynchronous discussion forum (DF), which is a standard feature of most learning management systems (LMSs) and thus of most online courses at the university level. DFs are a principle way to enable online participation and interaction on a student-to-student and student-to-instructor basis. It often is assumed that more interaction--more posts, more replies, and more replies to replies--indicates more learning. This investigation examines factors that positively influenced student engagement in DFs as measured by the quantity and quality of posts, interviews and surveys regarding preferences, and social network analysis (SNA) results. Overall, the findings indicate a variety of measures that result in more student engagement; for example, push notification (PN) processes can be used to send automatic notifications to members in order to encourage continued interactions. Some participants said that PNs influenced them, while some participants said that they did not like PNs. Additionally, members themselves can influence engagement through the "friendliness" of their posts, and members who post early receive privileged engagement. In addition to these findings, SNA indicates increased modularity for cohorts that have more and deeper engagement; thus, modularity may be a useful group-level proxy measure for engagement when SNA metrics become a standard feature of LMS discussions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]