Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban College of Education & Professional Studies Education (Darden) Spring 2005 A Comparison of Anonymous E-Peer Review Versus Identifiable E-Peer Review on College Student Writing Performance and Learning Satisfaction Ruiling Lu Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/ urbanservices_education_etds Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Higher Education Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, and the Rhetoric and Composition Commons Recommended Citation Lu, Ruiling. "A Comparison of Anonymous E-Peer Review Versus Identifiable E-Peer Review on College Student Writing Performance and Learning Satisfaction" (2005). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), dissertation, , Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/tmqy-e946 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/urbanservices_education_etds/59 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A COMPARISON OF ANONYMOUS E-PEER REVIEW VERSUS IDENTIFIABLE E-PEER REVIEW ON COLLEGE STUDENT WRITING PERFORMANCE AND LEARNING SATISFACTION By Ruiling Lu B.A. July 1986, Taiyuan Normal University M.A. July 2000, Shanxi University A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY URBAN SERVICES/URBAN EDUCATION CONCENTRATION OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY May 2005 Approved byr? DwighyW. Allen (Director) Xinda Bol (Member) Charlene Fleener (Member) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT A COMPARISON OF ANONYMOUS E-PEER REVIEW VERSUS IDENTIFIABLE E-PEER REVIEW ON COLLEGE STUDENT WRITING PERFORMANCE AND LEARNING SATISFACTION Ruiling Lu Old Dominion University, 2005 Director: Dr. Dwight Allen The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of anonymous e-peer review with identifiable e-peer review on student writing performance and learning satisfaction. It also investigated whether anonymous e-peer review facilitated a greater amount of critical peer feedback. Quasi-experimental design was used to test group differences on the dependent variables. Participants were 48 freshmen enrolled in two English Composition classes at Old Dominion University in the fall semester of 2003. The two intact classes taught by the same instructor were randomly assigned to the anonymous e-peer review group and the identifiable e-peer review group. The results showed that students in the anonymous e-peer review group outperformed their counterparts in the identifiable e-peer review group on writing performance; students in the anonymous e-peer review group provided a greater amount of critical feedback and lower ratings on their peers’ writing. No significant differences between the anonymous e-peer review group and the identifiable e-peer review group were found on student learning satisfaction. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright, 2005, by Ruiling Lu. All Rights Reserved. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation is dedicated to my parents who have dedicated their whole lives to their children. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, my immense gratitude to my dissertation committee, Dr. Dwight Allen, Dr. Linda Bol, and Dr. Charlene Fleener. To Dr. Allen, my advisor and committee chair, who started me on the journey and helped me stay the course. Your philosophy, insights, creativity, generosity, kindness, and encouragement were essential to the successful completion of this journey. I consider myself extremely fortunate to finish my graduate study under your guidance. To Dr. Bol, who gave generously a great amount of time, energy, and ideas from the very beginning of this project to the final product. Without your guidance, expertise, stimulation, and support along the way, there would never be this product. To Dr. Fleener, who patiently reviewed and edited every word of this work. Your kindness, cooperativeness, understanding, and help are greatly appreciated. It was the best committee I could have hoped for, and I have benefited enormously from your collective efforts and accountability for your students. I am very grateful to Dr. Richard Overbaugh, who kindly offered me graduate assistantship that greatly enriched my academic life and enhanced my professional skills. Your advice, trust, concern and friendship will be long remembered. I would like to extend a special thank to Dr. Carole Allen, who provided me with a plenitude of valuable advice both academically and personally. Your care, consideration, benevolence, and mentorship made my life in a foreign land so easy and agreeable. Thanks to all the participants in the experiment, the instructor, the teaching assistant, and all the students. Your involvement and cooperation were a pivotal part of this research. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Appreciation is also extended to particular members of the faculty and staff of Darden College of Education, Dr. Tonelson, Barbara Webb, Jan Becker Willcox, and Brian Hodson. Your consistent administrative support helped make my learning and working experiences pleasant and manageable. Credit goes to my husband, who brought me to the United States, and made this special educational opportunity available to me. To my dearest son, who accompanied me in all these years, and continually refilled me with joy, hope, and dreams. For you, I started the journey, and for you, I stuck to the end. Most importantly, I owe a debt of gratitude to my parents. I cannot express how much your ever-lasting love, concern, supports, sacrifice, and never-wavering confidence in me have meant to me in this journey and in my life. Whatever is good about me is because of you and belongs to you! Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ........ Ix LIST OF FIGURES ....... xi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION..................................... 1 Theorectical Foundation of Peer Review ............................................................. 2 Merits of Peer Review................................................................................................4 Concerns with Peer Review ..................................................... 6 Anonymous Peer Review .................................................................................... 7 Advantages ................................................................................... 8 Disadvantages .......................................................................... 9 Purpose of the Study and the Research Questions ................. 10 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................... 11 Research Design..........................................................................................................12 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................. 14 Benefits of Peer Review ............................................... 14 Improving Student Writing Skills .......................................... ..15 Reducing the Instructor Workload ..................................... 19 Other Benefits ................................................................ 20 Problems with Peer Review.......................................................................................22 Uneven Quality of Peer Feedback .......................................... 22 Group Dysfunction .........................................................................................23 Lack of Criticism in Peer Feedback ........................................... 24 Benefits of Anonymous Peer Review ..................... 27 Factors Contributing to the Critical Feedback in Anonymous Peer Review........ 33 Deindividuation Caused by Anonymity ................................... 33 Detachment of the Messenger from his Messages...... ...... 36 Feasibility of Anonymous Peer Review ...... 37 Summary and Hypotheses.... ............................ 40 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY.......................... 43 Research Design ......................... 43 Participants.......... ........................................... 45 Instrumentation ................ 46 Student Writing Performance .............. 46 Student Learning Satisfaction ............................... 48 'The Amount of Critical Peer Feedback ...... 51 Procedure ............... 52 Administration of the Treatment ........ 52 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Peer Review Process....................................... ..56 Data Analysis....... ................................................... 58 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS OF THE STUDY .............. 62 Sample Demographics............................................................................ .62 Anonymity Manipulation Checks