Social Presence
What is it? And how do we measure it?
{ Patrick R. Lowenthal @ Boise State University }

Research on Social Presence
Researchers have shown—in varying degrees:
•A relationship between social presence &
student satisfaction
•A relationship between social presence & the
development of a community of learners
•A relationship between social presence &
perceived learning

Conceptual Framework
Social
Presence
Cognitive
Presence
Teaching
Presence
Educational
Experience

Social Presence
disclose
Affective
•Expression of
Emotions
•Use of humor
•Self-
disclosure
Cohesive
•Vocatives
•Use of
inclusive
pronouns
•Phatics /
Salutations
Interactive
•Continuing a thread
•Quoting from other
messages
•Referring explicitly
to other messages
•Asking questions
•Complimenting /
Expressing
appreciation
Social
Presence
+ + =

Method

Mixed Methods
Phase Data Analysis Type of Data Purpose of Results
1 Word Count
(Quantitative)
All course
discussions
Explore the frequency of
top words used
2 Content
Analysis
(Quantitative)
All course
discussions
Explore the presence and
frequency of categories
and indicators of social
presence.
3 Constant
Comparative
Analysis
(Qualitative)
One discussion
thread with high
social presence &
one with low social
presence
Identify codes, groups,
and themes in the data
missed by content
analysis.
Research Question
How does social presence manifest in a graduate
education asynchronous online course?

Results

Phase 1 Word Count

Phase 2 Content Analysis

Phase 2 Content Analysis
Stage One: Frequency Across All Forums

Phase 2 Content Analysis
Stage One: Frequency Across All Forums

Phase 2 Content Analysis
Stage Two: Frequency within different forums

Phase 2 Content Analysis
Stage Two: Frequency within different forums

Phase 2 Content Analysis
Stage Two: Frequency within different forums

Phase 2 Content Analysis
Stage Three: Frequency across students

Phase 2 Content Analysis
Stage Three: Frequency across students

Phase 3 Constant Comparison
Reading Group E ~ Lowest Social Presence
Students began the threaded discussion (which spanned two
months) with chit chatting and telling personal stories but
quickly changed their focus to the task at hand of
discussing public policy in general and the readings in
particular; overtime the focus of the discussion was solely
on the reading and public policy—by this point the
discussion largely consisted of students posting questions
and the instructor answering the questions.

Phase 3 Constant Comparison
Pair 9~ Highest Social Presence
Students who have a past relationship and spend time with
each other either professionally (e.g., we are fortunate
enough to work together) or personally outside of class can
have an easier time collaborating with each other because of
their past relationship, shared experiences, and geographic
closeness which others might not have. These benefits can
help them NOT to be alone, give them opportunities to chat
a lot, provide a strong and safe foundation to openly share
how they are struggling personally and professionally, and
to regularly meet face-to-face.

Discussion

Key Findings
Results suggest the the following are important:
Group size
Instructional task
Past relationships
One size doesn’t fit all

Other Findings
Other findings from this study are:
•Situational variables matter: There really isn’t
simply one type of CMC--the publicness, group
nature of online discussions, people’s growing
use of CMD, instructor’s role all matter
•Unit of analysis matters
•All indicators are not equal
•Differences between CoI survey and Indicators

Other Findings
Other findings from this study are:
•Situational variables matter: There really isn’t
simply one type of CMC--the publicness, group
nature of online discussions, people’s growing
use of CMD, instructor’s role all matter
•Unit of analysis matters
•All indicators are not equal
•Differences between CoI survey and Indicators

Patrick R. Lowenthal
patricklowenthal@boisestate.edu
www.patricklowenthal.com
Contact Me