Haythornthwaite, C. (1998)
A social network study of the growth of community among distance learners
Information Research, 4, 1
* Communication frequency is associated with the maintenance of more relations and the use of more media.
* Patterns of media use are highly influenced by the media established by the instructor for class interaction
* Email is important for pairs who communicate more often.
* Actor positions in collaborative work, exchanging advice and socialising relations are similar, but this position does not correlate with their position in an emotional support network.
* Different actors are involved in the emotional support network than in other networks
* Group interaction patterns become less flexible over time.
* An individual’s perception of their own sense of belonging to the class is most strongly correlated with their centrality in exchanging advice networks.