Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 112

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015 Inter-coder Reliability For purposes of testing the reliability of coders to cull the number of times immediacy appeared in a textbook, two test coders were used. Establishing inter-coder reliability included examining the accuracy of coders comparing the peer-reviewed prominent immediacy articles with those appearing in the textbook reference sections. Coders I and II examined the number of citations within the first four chapters (see Appendix A for the complete list of peer-reviewed immediacy articles). Validity Because the population and sample of the study did not include people, much control over the accuracy of the information was attainable by devising the Coding Book of Definitions and rewriting materials to allow coders to cull data better during the pilot test. Because the development of the coding book involved great care, external validity did not affect the outcome. Regarding internal validity, the researcher was responsible for proper measurements. Consequently, the quantitative measurements, counting of references and paragraph devoted to immediacy, were tested for inter-coder reliability. RESULTS Griggs et al. (2004) conducted a study using a sample of introductory psychology textbooks and found the textbooks to be idiosyncratic, yielding only one scholarly reference. To test whether textbooks in the field of online education are homogeneous or idiosyncratic, identifying a scholarly best practice approach to online education was necessary to determine whether online teaching textbooks included acknowledgment of the approach. Teacher immediacy was identified as a promising best practice. Research studies have illustrated a correlation between online teacher immediacy and increased student satisfaction and retention (Arbaugh, 2001; Dahl, 2004; Dupin-Bryant, 2004; Rocca, 2004). For the study teacher immediacy in the online classroom has been operationalized as non-verbal teacher communications that foster psychological closeness and acknowledge student feelings and emotions in a timely response. To track online immediacy terminology, immediacy and words closely related to the term were arranged on a scale of 1 to 23. Number 1 indicated the term immediacy, and number 23 indicated the terms speedy and rapidly used interchangeably. Numbers 2 through 17 indicated terms related to immediacy, such as closeness and emotions and synonyms derived of each. Numbers 18 through 23 related to the minor immediacy definition of timely feedback initiated by the instructor. 110 !