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Perceptions and Expressions of Social Presence During Conversations on Twitter

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Perceptions and Expressions of Social Presence During Conversations on Twitter PERCEPTIONS AND EXPRESSIONS OF SOCIAL PRESENCE DURING CONVERSATIONS ON TWITTER A Thesis by KELLY MARIE PRITCHETT Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE December 2011 Major Subject: Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications Perceptions and Expressions of Social Presence During Conversations on Twitter Copyright 2011 Kelly Marie Pritchett PERCEPTIONS AND EXPRESSIONS OF SOCIAL PRESENCE DURING CONVERSATIONS ON TWITTER A Thesis by KELLY MARIE PRITCHETT Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Approved by: Co-Chairs of Committee, Traci L. Naile Theresa Pesl Murphrey Committee Member R. Daniel Lineberger Head of Department, Jack Elliot December 2011 Major Subject: Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications iii ABSTRACT Perceptions and Expressions of Social Presence During Conversations on Twitter. (December 2011) Kelly Marie Pritchett, B.S., Texas A&M University Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr.Traci L. Naile Dr.Theresa Pesl Murphrey Computer-mediated environments such as social media create new social climates that impact communication interactions in un-mediated environments. This study examined social variables during conversations on Twitter through a qualitative document analysis that coded messages into affective, interactive or cohesive categories. Perceived social presence, participant satisfaction, and relationships between social presence and satisfaction among Twitter users during streaming conversations were examined through an online questionnaire that was created using qualtrics.com and made available to respondents over a one-week period. The researcher concluded that most social variables in the Twitter conversations of this study fall into the interactive social presence category. In addition, each category of responses functions in a different way to foster social presence. Two groups of survey respondents agreed with 10 out of 21 and 13 out of 21 statements about social presence and 10 out of 13 and 12 out of 13 statements about satisfaction. Findings indicated that positive and negative relationships exist between social presence and satisfaction. iv Both conversations in this study appeared to be successful. Therefore, agricultural communicators should feel comfortable using CMC more frequently to circulate agricultural information among populations across the globe. It was recommended that further research be conducted to examine social presence among new topics, populations, and other forms of CMC. v DEDICATION This study is dedicated to the generation of communicators still learning how to use text- and Web-based technologies, the current generations who have embraced these technologies as they were introduced, and the future generations who will thrive on computer-mediated communication even more than those before them. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to my committee co-chairs, Dr. Naile and Dr. Murphrey, and committee member, Dr. Lineberger, for their guidance, never-ending patience, and expertise that kept me on focus throughout the course of this research. Thank you to my younger sister, Kim, who lived with me and encouraged me at all hours of the night and for the rest of my family who took interest in my work. Thank you to my dear friend, Amy, and the rest of my friends and colleagues who helped me sort out my thoughts about this study. Finally, thank you to the people who communicated with me via text messages and provided the original inspiration for this research project, as well as supported me in pursuing it. vii NOMENCLATURE CMC Computer-Mediated Communication F2F Face-to-Face . viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 Background and Setting ....................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .................................................................... 3 Purpose ................................................................................................. 4 Objectives ............................................................................................. 4 Expected Outcomes ............................................................................. 5 Scope of the Study ................................................................................ 5 Significance of the Study ..................................................................... 6 Assumptions ......................................................................................... 6 Limitations ........................................................................................... 7 Definition of Terms .............................................................................. 8 Chapter Summary ................................................................................. 9 II LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 11 Computer-mediated Communication ................................................... 11 Twitter and Micro-blogging ................................................................. 13 Hashtags and Third Party Applications ................................................ 14 #AgChat and #GardenChat .................................................................. 15 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................ 16 Chapter Summary ................................................................................. 22 ix CHAPTER Page III METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 25 Purpose ................................................................................................ 25 Objectives ............................................................................................. 25 Research Design ................................................................................... 25 Population ............................................................................................ 26 Content Analysis ................................................................................. 26 Survey Instrument Design .................................................................... 27 Qualitative Data Collection .................................................................. 29 Quantitative Data Collection ................................................................ 29 Data Analysis ....................................................................................... 31 Institutional Review Board ................................................................... 32 IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................ 34 Profile of Respondents ........................................................................ 34 Findings Related to Social Presence Dimensions ................................ 39 Findings Related to #AgChat and #GardenChat Users‘ Perceptions of Social Presence ............................................................. 48 Findings Related to #AgChat and #GardenChat Users‘ Satisfactions ......................................................................................... 50 Findings Related to Relationships Between Social Presence and Satisfaction ......................................................... 53 V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS .................................................................................. 62 Summary .............................................................................................. 62 Conclusions ......................................................................................... 66 Recommendations ................................................................................ 72 Implications ......................................................................................... 75 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 78 APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................... 84 APPENDIX B ........................................................................................................... 86 APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................... 93 APPENDIX D ........................................................................................................... 96 x Page APPENDIX E ............................................................................................................ 98 VITA ........................................................................................................................
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