Identifying gatekeepers in online learning networks
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Apr 11, 2017
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Abstract
The rise of the networked society has not only changed our perceptions but also the definitions, roles, processes and dynamics of online learning networks. From offline to online worlds, networks are everywhere and gatekeepers are an important entity in these networks. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to explore gatekeeping and gatekeepers in online learning networks. In this regard, it will examine the indicators of gatekeeping and gatekeepers, and gatekeepers’ roles and functions in learning network formation processes. For the purposes of the research, the paper uses multiple-case design and examines three connectivist Massive Open Online Courses through social network analysis. The findings of the research indicate that betweenness centrality is an important indicator of gatekeeping and gatekeepers. Moreover, gatekeepers have an important role in learning network formation processes and their actions are one of the determiners of the network structure.
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References
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Berryman, G., Buckland, J., Champion, W., & Martin, C. (2005). Fix You (Recorded by Coldplay). On X&Y [CD]. England: Parlophone Records.
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Bouhnik, D., & Giat, Y. (2015). Information Gatekeepers–Aren’t We All?. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 18, 127-144.
Bozkurt, A. & Tu, C-H. (2016). Digital Identity Formation: Socially Being Real and Present on Digital Networks. Educational Media International, 53(3), 153-167.
Bozkurt, A. (2017). Book Review: Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL - Insights from a Connected World. Contemporary Educational Technology, 8(2), 191-194.
Bozkurt, A., Honeychurch, S., Caines, A., Maha, B., Koutropoulos, A., & Cormier, D. (2016). Community Tracking in a cMOOC and Nomadic Learner Behaviour Identification on a Connectivist Rhizomatic Learning Network. The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (TOJDE), 17(4). 4-30.
Brin, S., & Page, L. (2012). Reprint of: The anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual web search engine. Computer Networks, 56(18), 3825-3833.
Burt, R. S. (1992). Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Burt, R. S. (2005). Brokerage and Closure: An Introduction to Social Capital. Oxford university press.
Carpenter, D. (2014). Reputation and Power: Organizational Image and Pharmaceutical Regulation at the FDA. Princeton University Press.
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Castells, M. (2011). Network Theory: A Network Theory of Power. International Journal of Communication, 5(2011), 773–787.
Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128-152.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95-120.
Demarest, M. (1997). Understanding knowledge management. Long Range Planning, 30(3), 321-384.
De Nooy, W., Mrvar, A., & Batagelj, V. (2011). Exploratory Social Network Analysis with Pajek (Vol. 27). Cambridge University Press.
Ehrlich, K., & Carboni, I. (2005). Inside Social Network Analysis. Boston College.
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Freeman, L. C. (1979). Centrality in social networks conceptual clarification. Social Networks, 1(3), 215-239.
Gillham, B. (2000). Case Study Research Methods. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Giuliani, E., & Bell, M. (2005). The micro-determinants of meso-level learning and innovation: evidence from a Chilean wine cluster. Research Policy, 34(1), 47-68.
Gould, R. V., & Fernandez, R. M. (1989). Structures of mediation: A formal approach to brokerage in transaction networks. Sociological Methodology, 19(1989), 89-126.
Gürsakal, N. (2009). Sosyal Ağ Analizi. Bursa: Dora Yayıncılık.
Hagan, F. E. (1993). Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology. New York: Macmillan.
Haythornethwaite, K. (1996). Social network analysis: An approach and technique for the study of information exchange. Library & Information Science Research, 18(4), 323–342.
Krebs, V. (2000). Social network analysis, a brief introduction. Retrieved from http://www.orgnet.com/sna.html
Laidlaw, E. B. (2010). A framework for identifying Internet information gatekeepers. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 24(3), 263-276.
Lewin, K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics, II: Channels of group life; social planning and action research. Human Relations, 1(2), 143–153.
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Marsden, P. V. (1982). Brokerage behavior in restricted exchange networks. Social Structure and Network Analysis, 7(4), 341-410.
McQuail, D. (1987). Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction. SAGE Publications.
Messeni Petruzzelli, A., Albino, V., Carbonara, N., & Rotolo, D. (2010). Leveraging learning behavior and network structure to improve knowledge gatekeepers' performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 14(5), 635-658.
Metoyer-Duran, C. (1993). Information gatekeepers. Annual review of information science and technology, 28, 111-150.
Mishra, D., Cayzer, S., & Madden, T. (2017). Tutors and Gatekeepers in Sustainability MOOCS. On the Horizon, 25(1).
Moroozov, E. (2011, June 10). Your Own Facts. NYTimes. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/books/review/book-review-the-filter-bubble-by-eli-pariser.html
Mueller, W., & Broekel, T. (2014). The influence of proximity dimensions on the edge betweenness centrality in subsidized knowledge networks in Germany. Paper to be presented at the DRUID Academy conference in Rebild, Aalborg, Denmark on January 15-17, 2014. Retrieved from http://druid8.sit.aau.dk/acc_papers/v88shjcg4va252aioy8kls2cdyih.pdf
Muller-Prothmann, T. (2006). Leveraging Knowledge Communication for Innovation: Framework, Methods and Applications of Social Network Analysis in Research and Development. Peter Lang International Academic Publishers.
Nahon, K. (2011). Network Theory| Fuzziness of Inclusion/Exclusion in Networks. International Journal of Communication, 5, 756-772.
Nooteboom, B. (2003). Problems and Solutions in Knowledge Transfer. In D. Fornahl & T. Brenner (Eds), Cooperation, Networks and Institutions in Regional Innovation Systems (pp. 105–127), Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Pariser, E. (2011, May 22). When the Internet Thinks It Knows You. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/opinion/23pariser.html
Pariser, E. (2011). The Filter Bubble: What The Internet İs Hiding from You. New York: Penguin Press.
Roberts, C. (2005). Gatekeeping theory: An evolution. iommunication Theory and Methodology Division Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication San Antonio, Texas. Retrieved from http://www.reelaccurate.com/about/gatekeeping.pdf
Rychen, F., & Zimmermann, J. B. (2008). Clusters in the global knowledge-based economy: knowledge gatekeepers and temporary proximity. Regional Studies, 42(6), 767-776.
Schreiber, J. B. & Asner-Self, K. (2011). Educational Research: The Interrelationship of Questions, Sampling, Design, And Analysis. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.
Scott, J. (1991). Social Network Analysis. A Handbook. London: SAGE Publications.
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Smith, M., Rainie, L., Shneiderman, B., & Himelboim, I. (2014). Mapping Twitter Topic Networks: From Polarized Crowds to Community Clusters. http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/02/20/mapping-twitter-topic-networks-from-polarized-crowds-to-community-clusters/
Wasserman, S. and Faust, K. (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge/MA: Cambridge University Press.
Wellman, B. (1983). Network Analysis: Some Basic Principles. Sociological Theory, 1, 155-200.
Wellman, B. and Berkowitz, S. D. (1988). Social Structures. Cambridge/MA: Cambridge University Press.
Yin, R. K. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publications.
Zhu, B., Watts, S., & Chen, H. (2010). Visualizing social network concepts. Decision Support Systems, 49(2), 151-161.
Barzilai‐Nahon, K. (2008). Toward a theory of network gatekeeping: A framework for exploring information control. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(9), 1493-1512.
Barzilai‐Nahon, K. (2009). Gatekeeping: A critical review. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 43(1), 1-79.
Bastos, M. T., Raimundo, R. L. G., & Travitzki, R. (2013). Gatekeeping Twitter: message diffusion in political hashtags. Media, Culture & Society, 35(2), 260-270.
Bavelas, A. (1948). A mathematical model for group structure. Applied Anthropology, 7(3), 16-30.
Berryman, G., Buckland, J., Champion, W., & Martin, C. (2005). Fix You (Recorded by Coldplay). On X&Y [CD]. England: Parlophone Records.
Boschma, R. A., & Ter Wal, A. L. (2007). Knowledge networks and innovative performance in an industrial district: the case of a footwear district in the South of Italy. Industry and Innovation, 14(2), 177-199.
Bouhnik, D., & Giat, Y. (2015). Information Gatekeepers–Aren’t We All?. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 18, 127-144.
Bozkurt, A. & Tu, C-H. (2016). Digital Identity Formation: Socially Being Real and Present on Digital Networks. Educational Media International, 53(3), 153-167.
Bozkurt, A. (2017). Book Review: Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL - Insights from a Connected World. Contemporary Educational Technology, 8(2), 191-194.
Bozkurt, A., Honeychurch, S., Caines, A., Maha, B., Koutropoulos, A., & Cormier, D. (2016). Community Tracking in a cMOOC and Nomadic Learner Behaviour Identification on a Connectivist Rhizomatic Learning Network. The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (TOJDE), 17(4). 4-30.
Brin, S., & Page, L. (2012). Reprint of: The anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual web search engine. Computer Networks, 56(18), 3825-3833.
Burt, R. S. (1992). Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Burt, R. S. (2005). Brokerage and Closure: An Introduction to Social Capital. Oxford university press.
Carpenter, D. (2014). Reputation and Power: Organizational Image and Pharmaceutical Regulation at the FDA. Princeton University Press.
Castells, M., Monge, P., & Contractor, N. (2011). Prologue to the Special Section: Network Multidimensionality in the Digital Age. International Journal of Communication, 5, 788-793.
Castells, M. (2011). Network Theory: A Network Theory of Power. International Journal of Communication, 5(2011), 773–787.
Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128-152.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95-120.
Demarest, M. (1997). Understanding knowledge management. Long Range Planning, 30(3), 321-384.
De Nooy, W., Mrvar, A., & Batagelj, V. (2011). Exploratory Social Network Analysis with Pajek (Vol. 27). Cambridge University Press.
Ehrlich, K., & Carboni, I. (2005). Inside Social Network Analysis. Boston College.
Freeman, L. C. (1977). A set of measures of centrality based on betweenness. Sociometry, 35-41.
Freeman, L. C. (1979). Centrality in social networks conceptual clarification. Social Networks, 1(3), 215-239.
Gillham, B. (2000). Case Study Research Methods. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Giuliani, E., & Bell, M. (2005). The micro-determinants of meso-level learning and innovation: evidence from a Chilean wine cluster. Research Policy, 34(1), 47-68.
Gould, R. V., & Fernandez, R. M. (1989). Structures of mediation: A formal approach to brokerage in transaction networks. Sociological Methodology, 19(1989), 89-126.
Gürsakal, N. (2009). Sosyal Ağ Analizi. Bursa: Dora Yayıncılık.
Hagan, F. E. (1993). Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology. New York: Macmillan.
Haythornethwaite, K. (1996). Social network analysis: An approach and technique for the study of information exchange. Library & Information Science Research, 18(4), 323–342.
Krebs, V. (2000). Social network analysis, a brief introduction. Retrieved from http://www.orgnet.com/sna.html
Laidlaw, E. B. (2010). A framework for identifying Internet information gatekeepers. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 24(3), 263-276.
Lewin, K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics, II: Channels of group life; social planning and action research. Human Relations, 1(2), 143–153.
Lewin, K. (1951). Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers. New York: Harper.
Marsden, P. V. (1982). Brokerage behavior in restricted exchange networks. Social Structure and Network Analysis, 7(4), 341-410.
McQuail, D. (1987). Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction. SAGE Publications.
Messeni Petruzzelli, A., Albino, V., Carbonara, N., & Rotolo, D. (2010). Leveraging learning behavior and network structure to improve knowledge gatekeepers' performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 14(5), 635-658.
Metoyer-Duran, C. (1993). Information gatekeepers. Annual review of information science and technology, 28, 111-150.
Mishra, D., Cayzer, S., & Madden, T. (2017). Tutors and Gatekeepers in Sustainability MOOCS. On the Horizon, 25(1).
Moroozov, E. (2011, June 10). Your Own Facts. NYTimes. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/books/review/book-review-the-filter-bubble-by-eli-pariser.html
Mueller, W., & Broekel, T. (2014). The influence of proximity dimensions on the edge betweenness centrality in subsidized knowledge networks in Germany. Paper to be presented at the DRUID Academy conference in Rebild, Aalborg, Denmark on January 15-17, 2014. Retrieved from http://druid8.sit.aau.dk/acc_papers/v88shjcg4va252aioy8kls2cdyih.pdf
Muller-Prothmann, T. (2006). Leveraging Knowledge Communication for Innovation: Framework, Methods and Applications of Social Network Analysis in Research and Development. Peter Lang International Academic Publishers.
Nahon, K. (2011). Network Theory| Fuzziness of Inclusion/Exclusion in Networks. International Journal of Communication, 5, 756-772.
Nooteboom, B. (2003). Problems and Solutions in Knowledge Transfer. In D. Fornahl & T. Brenner (Eds), Cooperation, Networks and Institutions in Regional Innovation Systems (pp. 105–127), Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Pariser, E. (2011, May 22). When the Internet Thinks It Knows You. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/opinion/23pariser.html
Pariser, E. (2011). The Filter Bubble: What The Internet İs Hiding from You. New York: Penguin Press.
Roberts, C. (2005). Gatekeeping theory: An evolution. iommunication Theory and Methodology Division Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication San Antonio, Texas. Retrieved from http://www.reelaccurate.com/about/gatekeeping.pdf
Rychen, F., & Zimmermann, J. B. (2008). Clusters in the global knowledge-based economy: knowledge gatekeepers and temporary proximity. Regional Studies, 42(6), 767-776.
Schreiber, J. B. & Asner-Self, K. (2011). Educational Research: The Interrelationship of Questions, Sampling, Design, And Analysis. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.
Scott, J. (1991). Social Network Analysis. A Handbook. London: SAGE Publications.
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Smith, M., Rainie, L., Shneiderman, B., & Himelboim, I. (2014). Mapping Twitter Topic Networks: From Polarized Crowds to Community Clusters. http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/02/20/mapping-twitter-topic-networks-from-polarized-crowds-to-community-clusters/
Wasserman, S. and Faust, K. (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge/MA: Cambridge University Press.
Wellman, B. (1983). Network Analysis: Some Basic Principles. Sociological Theory, 1, 155-200.
Wellman, B. and Berkowitz, S. D. (1988). Social Structures. Cambridge/MA: Cambridge University Press.
Yin, R. K. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publications.
Zhu, B., Watts, S., & Chen, H. (2010). Visualizing social network concepts. Decision Support Systems, 49(2), 151-161.