Thesis

These pages are a quick and dirty conversion of my Ph.D. thesis into HTML. The files can be viewed individually here or downloaded as a lump in either .zip (220K) or .sit.hqx (304K) formats.

My thesis can also be obtained conventionally through the University of Cambridge.

Dan Hillman

Table of Contents

Hillman, D. C. A. (1997). Improved coding and data management for discourse analysis: A case study in face-to-face and computer-mediated classroom interaction. Doctoral dissertation, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.

Abstract

The role of language in education

• The nature of classroom language
  • Lecture
  • Recitation
  • Discussion
• Language and new technologies
• Characteristics of FTF classroom interaction
  • Social status
  • Sex issues
  • Social apprehension and withdrawal
• Characteristics of CMC interaction
  • Asynchronous
  • Reduced social presence
  • Reduced social cues
  • Reduced social identity and deindividuation

• Data collection
  • Courses
  • Modes of delivery
  • Teachers
  • Students
• Transcription
  • Collecting the data
  • Transcription procedure
• Database
  • Description of the database
  • AppleScript
  • FTF transcripts
  • CMC transcripts
• New coding system
  • Bellack et al.'s system
    • Why use Bellack et al.'s system?
    • Description of Bellack et al.'s system
      • Speaker
      • Type of pedagogical move
      • Substantive meaning
      • Substantive-logical meaning
      • Instructional meaning
      • Instructional-logical meaning
  • New system
    • Development
    • Description
      • Purpose
        • Organising
        • Eliciting
        • Responding
        • Lecturing
        • Humanising
        • Idling
        • Not Clear
      • Mechanism
        • Fact-Stating
        • Explaining
        • Opining
        • Performing
        • Repeating
        • Rating
        • Rhetorical Device
        • Filler
        • Not Clear
      • Subject
        • Person
        • Action
        • Procedure
        • Content
        • Supplies
        • Not Clear
    • Reliability

• Analysis of data
  • Extracting and plotting
  • How much did participants speak?
  • FTF interruptions
• Testing for recitation behaviours
  • Predominant speaker
  • Typical exchange
  • Overall pace
• Testing for CMC-specific behaviours
  • Humanising
  • Opining
  • Organising and Repeating
  • (Explaining or Performing) and Procedure

• Appendix A: Course and class attendance
• Appendix B: Instructions for transcriptionists
• Appendix C: Random Student Selection
  • Purpose and requirements
  • How the script works
  • Shortcomings of the script
  • Random Student Selection
• Appendix D: Transcript to Database
  • Purpose and requirements
  • How the script works
  • Shortfalls of the script
  • Transcript to Database
• Appendix E: Metadata Extraction
  • Purpose and requirements
  • How the script works
  • Shortcomings of the script
  • Metadata Extraction
• Appendix F: Extract Large Sentences
  • Purpose and requirements
  • How the script works
  • Shortfalls of the script
  • Extract Large Sentences
• Appendix G: CMC to Database
  • Purpose and requirements
  • How the script works
  • Shortfalls of the script
  • CMC to Database
• Appendix H: Select Random Records
  • Purpose and requirements
  • How the script works
  • Shortfalls of the script
  • Select Random Records
• Appendix I: Extracting course data
• Appendix J: Expected probability
  • Student utterances
  • Expected probability of FTF interruptions
• Appendix K: Who Interrupted Whom
  • Purpose and requirements
  • How the script works
  • Shortcomings of the script
  • Who Interrupted Who
• Appendix L: Analysis of code distribution
• Appendix M: Count Contiguous Utterances
  • Purpose and requirements
  • How the script works
  • Shortcomings of the script
  • Count Contiguous Utterances