Online Communities Designing Usability and Supporting Sociability

by Preece, Jennifer

• ISBN13: 9780471805991
• ISBN10: 0471805998
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-03
• Publisher: WILEY

Summary

The purpose of the book is to set up a framework for discussions on social and technical issues of online communities. Designing usability and supporting sociability lays a solid foundation on which online communities can grow and thrive. Intended for both students and computer professionals, the book addresses the development of new online communities as well as the improvement of existing ones. It is divided into two parts - Getting Acquainted with Online Communities and Developing Online Communities - along with a preface and a concluding chapter which explores the future of online communities. For sample chapters and other resources, please check out the web site for the book at www.ifsm.umbc.edu/onlinecommunities.

Author Biography

Jenny Preece is Professor and Chair of Information Systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where she teaches online communities and human-computer interaction. Prior to coming to the USA she chaired the first distance education course at the Open University in the UK. She has authored a leading text on Human-Computer Interaction and numerous other publications.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Preface	xv
Part One: Getting Acquainted with Online Communities	1	(200)
Introduction	5	(28)
What is an Online Community?	8	(11)
Bright and Dark Sides of Online Communities	19	(6)
Introducing Sociability and Usability	25	(3)
Summary	28	(1)
Further Reading	29	(4)
Community Tours	33	(46)
Health Communities	37	(17)
Education Communities	54	(13)
Other E-commerce Communities	67	(6)
Summary	73	(3)
Further Reading	76	(3)
Sociability: Purpose, People, and Policies	79	(30)
Purpose	80	(2)
People	82	(12)
Policies	94	(12)
Summary	106	(1)
Further Reading	106	(3)
Usability: Tasks, Users, and Software	109	(38)
Tasks	112	(6)
Tasks and Special-Purpose Communities	118	(6)
Users	124	(9)
Software	133	(10)
Summary	143	(1)
Further Reading	143	(4)
Research Speaks to Practice: Interpersonal Communication	147	(22)
Early Work in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work	148	(2)
Social Presence	150	(6)
Common Ground	156	(4)
Common Ground and Different Media	160	(4)
Common Ground and Empathy	164	(1)
Summary	165	(1)
Further Reading	166	(3)
Research Speaks to Practice: Groups	169	(32)
Critical Mass	170	(3)
Networks and Network Analysis	173	(15)
Cooperation and Trust	188	(6)
Social Informatics	194	(2)
Summary	196	(2)
Further Reading	198	(3)
Part Two: Developing Online Communities	201	(198)
Community-Centered Development	203	(30)
Overview of the Community-Centered Development Process	206	(8)
Assessing Community Needs and Analyzing User Tasks	214	(6)
Selecting Technology and Planning Sociability	220	(3)
Designing, Implementing, and Testing Prototypes	223	(4)
Refining and Tuning Sociability and Usability	227	(2)
Welcoming and Nurturing the Community	229	(1)
Summary	229	(2)
Further Reading	231	(2)
Selecting Software	233	(34)
Three Routes to an Online Community	234	(2)
Software Options	236	(24)
Web Homesteading	260	(4)
Summary	264	(1)
Further Reading	265	(2)
Guidelines: Sociability and Usability	267	(32)
Guidelines for Sociability	269	(6)
Guidelines for Usability	275	(15)
Checklist for Sociability and Usability	290	(1)
Guidelines for Moderators	290	(4)
Guidelines to Help Participants Communicate	294	(2)
Summary	296	(1)
Further Reading	297	(2)
Assessing Needs and Evaluating Communities	299	(46)
Evaluation Framework	303	(1)
Five Approaches	304	(8)
Reviews	312	(1)
Surveys: Questionnaires and Interviews	313	(8)
Observation	321	(6)
Metrics and Data Logging	327	(3)
Experiments, Quasi-Experiments, and Usability Testing	330	(4)
Additional Techniques for Students and Researchers	334	(6)
Summary	340	(2)
Further Reading	342	(3)
Development Case Studies	345	(30)
Down Syndrome Online Advocacy Group	346	(11)
Quiz Bowl Community	357	(13)
Summary	370	(1)
Further Reading	371	(4)
Looking to the Future	375	(24)
Sociability	379	(8)
Usability	387	(5)
Theory and Methods	392	(1)
Summary	393	(2)
Further Reading	395	(4)
References	399	(20)
Index	419