Chapter Three: Method

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Chapter Three: Method

There are many ways to approach a study of interactivity. McMillan (2002)points out that scholars have utilized four different areas of focus in order to understand interactivity. These include:

 Interactive Features

 Perceived Interactivity

 Interactive Exchange

 Multi-dimensional Perspectives

Each of these foci aims the analysis at a specific element of interactivity. Interactive features study focuses on the technological aspects of interactivity, by analyzing the possibilities for interaction. Perceived interactivity utilizes subjective user assessments of interaction.

Interactive exchange analysis focuses on the two-way communication inherent to interpersonal interactivity. Meanwhile, multi-dimensional perspectives analyzes a mixture of features, perceptions and exchange (McMillan, 2002). By studying the UGC at cbc.ca, this study will use what McMillan would refer to as an interactive exchange focus.

In order to assess interactive exchange, many studies measure the number of exchanges in given conversations. This exchange-oriented definition of interactivity is helpful in determining what does and what does not constitute interpersonal interactivity and measuring how in depth it is. However, if we only rely on exchange analysis we would find that much of the UGC at cbc.ca does not constitute interactivity at all because it is isolated from a thread of communication. As we determined above, expressive interactivity offers interaction without the necessity for exchange with other users.

In order to encompass both interpersonal and expressive interactivity, this study will use McMillan‟s(2002)four-part interactivity typology including: Feedback, Monologue, Mutual Discourse, and Responsive Dialogue. These are presented below in Table 3.1.

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However, as mentioned above McMillan‟s typology is somewhat problematic in that feedback and monologue are not necessarily distinct. Therefore, this study will limit feedback at cbc.ca to include only the voting feedback system attached to each comment as an “approve” or

“disapprove” function. Thus, one-way comments providing feedback will fall into the monologue category.

In addition to determining what type of interactivity cbc.ca users are engaging in, it will also be useful to determinewho they are interacting – or perceive to be interacting - with.

Examining how users address their comments will help us to better understand how users engage in different types of interaction. Cross-tabulating interaction type by address type will demonstrate how different forms of address lend themselves to different forms of interaction and vice-versa. In their analysis of email messages to NBC.com, Newhagen and colleagues identified three types of address:

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In the context of their study these correlated respectively with addresses to: the public, the institution (i.e. NBC), and an individual (ie. particular journalists) (Newhagen, Cordes, &

Levy, 1995). Similar trends can be seen at cbc.ca. The UGC at cbc.ca oftentimes appears as a sort of letter-to-the-editor addressed to the general public. Meanwhile, other UGC addresses the CBC as an institution, while still more messages are addressed to specific users.

One of the major differences between the UGC at cbc.ca and the content analyzed by Newhagen and colleagues is of course the fact that NBC‟s emails are a semi-private two-way communication, while UGC at cbc.ca is communication in an open forum. Yet another trend that casual observation reveals is that users often direct their comments towards figures or institutions mentioned in the article they are commenting on. This is a type of micro-scopic address, but it differs from addressing other cbc.ca users. In order to keep track of this phenomenon we‟ll measure two types of micro-scopic address: micro-user and micro-story-component address.

So, we have determined four types of interaction, and four types of addresses that interaction can take the form of. We can combine these traits to form a ten part model of the type of interaction possibly taking place at the CBC‟s website:

 Macro-Feedback: Feedback addressed to the world at large. The CBC website feedback system is anonymous, simply totaling the number of „agrees‟ and „disagrees‟

for each comment. As these are visible to everyone they are all considered macro addresses.

 Macro-Monologue: Monologic content addressed to the world-at-large

 Mezzo-Monologue: Monologic content addressed towards the CBC

 Micro-Monologue: Monologic content addressed to specific individuals

 Macro-Dialogue: Dialogic content that is responsive but also addressed to the world-at-large.

 Mezzo-Dialogue: Dialogue between users and the CBC; unlikely

 Micro-Dialogue: Dialogue between specific individuals; the most likely kind.

 Macro-Discourse: Discursive content aimed at the world at large and engaged in by many users

 Mezzo-Discourse: Discursive content between users and the CBC; unlikely.

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 Micro-Discourse: Discourse between individual users; the most likely kind.

As well as these ten types of interaction, we can measure the level of exchange at the CBC website. Tracking the degree to which comments are responses to others and are themselves responded to will help us to understand the nature of interactivity at cbc.ca. The next step is to explore more closely specific research questions and what sort of actual research methods we can use to measure the UGC at cbc.ca.