the researcher’s observations and the developing theoretical ideas (LeCompte and
Goetz, 1982). Tutor involvement also helped us to develop a typology with practical as
well as conceptual value. Initial concerns that “researcher presence” might affect the
nature and content of tutors’ e-communications were dispelled when tutors reported
several months into the study that they were not mindful of the research in their
communications with learners or conscious of the researcher “logging-in” under
their names. External validity or the transferability of theoretical propositions to
other contexts (Hartley, 1994) was strengthened by comparing the emerging typology
with existing frameworks.
Access and ethics
Ethical concerns may be amongst the reasons that conferences and group discussions
are more commonly subject to analysis than one-to-one exchanges. LtW offers a unique
opportunity in terms of access to data and learner consent. Access is possible because
messages sent through the dialogue facility are stored and retrievable. By agreeing to
the site’s terms and conditions of use and its privacy statement, learners give permission
for their personal data, including communications sent via the LtW site, to be used for
research purposes. Personal e-mail and other tutor-learner communications outside of
the LtW programme are not covered by the agreement and were not accessed.
Obtaining implicit consent may be considered less acceptable than explicitly
requesting consent from individuals to use their data for a particular purpose.
Therefore, we sought specific permission from learners selected for the research and
assured them that messages would not be traceable to individuals. Identities were
further protected by paraphrasing all but a few very brief phrases, rather than quoting
learners verbatim and at length. As the participating tutors had initiated the study,
they were clearly consenting.
Findings: dialogue activity
Our focus was the content of online dialogues. However, the way in which issues were
raised and addressed was also relevant to our purpose of helping to prepare new online
tutors for their role. Consequently, we also identified and categorised learner and tutor
activity using the same data segments.
Learner dialogue activity was categorised as: asking questions, reporting on
progress and plans, seeking feedback, giving feedback and disclosing feelings.
Although we did not seek statistical correlations between activity and topic, some
patterns emerged. Learners generally asked questions about: administrative matters
(such as the process of submitting assignments and the timescale for receiving the
results of assignments), the LC (detail, evidence and level indicators required) and
academic work (recommended reading, courses offered by the university, and the
presentation of assignments). Reporting covered topics such as: completed and
outstanding work, changes in job or career direction or their work situation, decisions
and reasons for decisions and changes in the direction and focus of their research.
Seeking feedback included asking for tutors’ views on: ideas about adopting a
theoretical/academic approach to independent study, handling a low survey return rate
and a proposed module topic. Feedback to tutors generally took the form of
appreciation for their time and for useful advice. Learners disclosed feelings such as
anxiety, stress and lack of confidence that were hindering their progress.