Online Discussion Processes: Effects of Earlier Messages´ Evaluations, Knowledge Content, Social Cues and Personal Information on Later Messages

During online discussions, earlier messages can affect later messages. This paper examined how online discussion messages affected one another along five dimensions: (1) evaluations (agreement, disagreement, or unresponsive actions); (2) knowledge content (contribution, repetition, or null content); (3) social cues (positive, negative, or none); (4) personal information (visit number); and (5) elicitation (eliciting response or not). Using sequential logit regressions and a structural equation model (SEM), this paper analyzed 131 messages covering seven topics in the math forum of a university bulletin board system (BBS) Web site. Results showed that, disagreement or contribution in the previous message increased the likelihoods of disagreements and social cue displays in the current message. Messages that disagreed with an earlier message also increased the likelihood of eliciting a subsequent response. Together, these results show how earlier messages may affect later messages during online discussions. These results can help educators understand and facilitate online academic discussions