Collaboration indices for monitoring potential problems in online small groups
The purpose of this study is to test the validity and reliability of three collaboration indices (quantity, equality, and shareness) proposed by Jahng et al. (2010). The present study repeated the quantitative assessment of Jahng et al., and performed a further qualitative analysis to identify possible factors that might be associated with the results of the quantitative assessment. In addition, membership trends, in terms of communication connections in whole class
discussions, were examined and compared with results from both the quantitative and qualitative assessments. The quantitative assessment results were consistent with those of the qualitative assessment and the membership trends. Therefore, the study concludes that the three quantitative collaboration indices are valid and practical to be used for monitoring and identifying potential problems in small groups in online courses.
Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology
