Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 110

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015
instructor responses. A Coding Book of Definitions was developed to define each page
variable as well as all study definitions and each coder received a tabulation form.
Each of the 19 textbooks received a number, and coders gathered the data based on
numerical matches relevant to an assigned numerical value for coding purposes. The data
gathering technique is a common practice for content analysis. Unlike other types of
statistical or quantitative studies, researchers using content analysis rely heavily on the
accuracy of coding. Thus, inter-coder reliability formed an important part of the data
collection process.
The data collection process commenced with each textbook receiving a number, 1
through 19. Next was the year of publication. The number 1 indicated textbooks published
in 1999, and 9 indicated textbooks published in 2007, for example. In the original
dissertation proposal, only texts published between 1999 and 2006 were included.
The chapter headings were used to rank the prominence of immediacy terminology
discussed and determined whether the term was specifically used in the first four chapters,
for example. Coders compared in-text citations to a list of scholarly immediacy citations, a
set of more than 45 peer-reviewed studies since 1990 that contained the word immediacy in
the title or abstract. If an author was listed in this study sample, but his or her authorship did
not appear in a corresponding scholarly article title, a credit citing a scholar was issued if the
first initial and last name matched.
Data Analysis
Raw data from the 19 textbooks were entered into a Microsoft Excel ® spreadsheet
starting with the textbook assigned a number based upon the year. The second column
represented the corresponding code based upon the textbook publication year. Columns C
through N represented the raw data for the chapter title and subtitle where immediacy
terminology found. Columns O through X accounted for the number of paragraphs where
both broad and minor immediacy terminology were found and the total number of
paragraphs per chapter in each of the first four textbook chapters. Two grand total columns
also accompanied this raw data category.
Columns Y through AU then included the instances of each of the 23 broad and
minor immediacy terms found. Columns AV and AW were used to track the raw instances
of prominent scholarly immediacy in-text and reference citations. Finally, column AX was
used for the total general reference count per textbook.
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