Paths Toward Social Construction of Knowledge: Examining Social Networks in Online Discussion Forums

Abstract

This mixed methods research project examined the relationship between social construction of knowledge and student centrality in three online discussion forums, which were part of a graduate online course on web conferencing in Spanish within the Mexican sociocultural context. The purpose of the study was to identify interaction patterns among twenty-one graduate students by analyzing discussion forum posts, measuring student centrality, and generating social network diagrams in order to explain the characteristics of posts and interaction dynamics that lead to social construction of knowledge. A sequential approach was used, starting with an interaction analysis model and social network analysis, followed by a combination of both analyses to shed light on interaction in online discussion forums carried out in Spanish.