A re-examination of the community of inquiry framework: Social network and content analysis

This study provides a simultaneous examination of all components of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000; Anderson, Rourke, Garrison & Archer, 2001; and Rourke, Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999) and seeks to extend previous work into the nature, development, and relationships between the constructs of “presence” hypothesized in the model. To accomplish this goal we use content and social network analysis to examine the discourse produced among all participants in two semester-length online asynchronous college courses. Coding for the existence and relative intensity of forms of presence we identify patterns and relationships between instructors' and students' teaching presence and social presence and the corresponding quantity and levels of the cognitive presence that emerges. The study reveals complex relationships between these variables that have implications for the development of higher order thinking and meaningful learning in online environments. Study findings also have implications for online teaching practice and ongoing research on the CoI framework.