Data Collection and Coding in Complex Systems: Using Classic Methods in Novel Digital Learning Environments

Brief Paper ID: 54266
  1. aaa
    Danielle Head
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  2. aaa
    PG Schrader
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  3. Michael McCreery
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  4. Joseph Fiorentini
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  5. aaa
    Catherine Bacos
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  6. aaa
    Mark Carroll
    University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Abstract: Constructs of interest within the cognitive realm are largely composed of processes that are not directly observable. Due to this, inferences about the use or nonuse of a particular cognitive process is based on what people do - their behaviors (Chung & Kerr, 2012). However, a specific behavioral act can be a manifestation of numerous underlying processes. This complex system, composed of a collection of interacting components that interfere, cooperate, or collaborate to give rise to complex behavior (Mitchell, 2009; Strogatz, 1994), poses the following challenge: know what to look for, why to look for it and how to make it valuable, so that collected data become more than basic tools but bases for analysis (Drachen, Canossa, & Sørensen, 2013). Beginning with a clear question, devising a useful data coding system and catalog, and organizing the observed behaviors in ways that address the research question and its underlying theoretical framework provides a method to meet that challenge.

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