Kim E. Higgs

Date of Award

7-25-2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Richard Fiordo

Abstract

This study employed a mixed method approach of qualitative research methodology and an ideological case study strategy. I used a submerged, active participant observation method to adequately understand and define how narrative and social interactions are collaborated on to establish community online. A qualitative analysis of the text of the posts of The Marie Doll Friends Forum (The Forum) was used to substantiate the answer to the research question posed in this study, which also embodied the purpose of this study: How do The Forum members collaborate through written narrative to exchange knowledge and establish community?The significance and value of narrative structuring online exposed the subtle ways The Forum members exchanged their personal knowledge. Collaborating social interactions through narrative structuring relied heavily on word usage, a common understanding of the words being used, and a commonality among the peoples who populate this online community. This, then, led to an increased understanding of how community was established online by The Forum members. Primary and secondary subject lines of the postings were used to create relational connections and a social environment. The implied subject, or explicitness of the primary and secondary subject lines, also functioned as a conversation control mechanisms. The sequential structuring of the message board postings were also framed through the use of the primary and secondary subject lines. This framing then impinged on the length and breadth of the conversations as they occurred. Framing also impinged on the content of the replies to a post originator's initial presentation of the discussion topic. Furthermore, each successive post added to the grand narrative, or myth, of The Forum as being a community of support and acceptance for its members.The four themes that emerged from this study identified that there is a need to examine exactly how online forum users collaborate on narrative structures to promote social interaction among members and to establish community online. Unlike internet studies that rarely discussed the users' role within socially mediated communication, this study did reveal that The Forum members were active participants in the establishment of community online through written narrative and online social interaction.

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