Computer-mediated communication in collaborative writing

The purpose of this study was to determine if using computers to communicate during group writing tasks is an effective mode of communication. Three-person teams wrote term papers in one of three conditions: face-to-face (FTF), synchronous computer-mediated communication (Netmeeting), or email. The participants were given 6 weeks to complete the task. Product differences showed only that email groups produced shorter rough drafts than FTF groups, indicating the rough draft was not as well thought out in the email groups. Process measures demonstrated that, overall, communication styles that afforded interactivity were utilized effectively in a collaborative writing setting. Furthermore, lack of expressiveness did not appear to deter groupwork. The results suggest that email alone may not be an appropriate setting for writing collaboratively; whereas teams in a synchronous computer-mediated communication setting, such as Netmeeting, should be able to produce quality work satisfactorily. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.