A Study of Users’ Reactions to a Mixed Online Discussion Model: A Lag Sequential Analysis Approach

There is an increasing growth of Social Network Services (SNSs). A variety of SNSs are applied in online interpersonal platforms. Among them, asynchronous and synchronous discussions are widely examined. However, there is a lack of research into the effects of integrated discussion services that combines asynchronous and synchronous discussions. Thus, the study investigates users’ performances and behavior patterns in a mixed discussion model that integrates asynchronous and synchronous discussions with a lag sequential analysis. The results showed that most groups chose to adopt the mixed discussion model (i.e., using both synchronous and asynchronous discussions), and only one group totally adopted the asynchronous discussion model. The study further analyzed the learners’ learning effectiveness and behavioral patterns, and the results indicated that the groups using the mixed model had a positive performance to a certain extent in terms of learning effectiveness and knowledge construction. In addition, users with the mixed discussion model demonstrated diverse behaviors, which were more complex than that of those with a single-way discussion model. Furthermore, regarding the groups using “balanced synchronous and asynchronous discussions” and the groups “mainly using synchronous discussion supplemented by less asynchronous discussion” in the mixed model (simultaneously using synchronous and asynchronous discussions), those users who mainly used synchronous discussion supplemented by asynchronous discussion had more diverse behaviors of knowledge construction.