An Overview of CSCL Methods

Abstract

Abstract CSCL as a field incorporates diverse methodological practices. This chapter provides an overview of research methods and practices in CSCL. Research methods are designed to answer those questions central to CSCL, whereas the practices refer to how these methods are used in practice. The chapter considers the diversity of methodological practices that are used to address the questions that CSCL researchers ask. In particular, research designs, settings, data sources, and analysis methods are reviewed using a literature corpus of CSCL research in STEM fields from 2005 to 2014. The results of this review show the range of practices used in CSCL research and the common practice of mixing methods. Finally, future trends related to visualization, automated analysis, and multimodal data are considered. These future trends address the complexity and diversity of CSCL environments as well as the challenges in analyzing the vast amount of data in seeking to support and understand collaborative sensemaking. Keywords Research methods · Research design · Methodological practices