Composition Forum 33 - Spring 2016 - Leveraging the Methodological Affordances of Facebook

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

This article examines how Social Network Sites (SNSs), especially Facebook, can strengthen research methods in longitudinal writing research by addressing research participant attrition and fostering sustained community. Drawing on the authors’ experience within a Longitudinal Study of Student Writers at the University of Arizona, it reports both successes and shortcomings of using Facebook. Five integration considerations are presented: building a community, sharing study data, constructing identity, understanding analytics, and conducting usability testing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

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Composition Forum 33, Spring 2016

Leveraging the Methodological Affordances of Facebook: Social Networking Strategies in Longitudinal Writing Research

Background: Longitudinal research in composition studies and participant attrition

Attrition, attrition bias, and retention protocols

Using Facebook as a social networking strategy for retention

Current Issue From the Editors Weblog Editorial Board Editorial Policy Submissions Archives Accessibility Search Composition Forum 33, Spring 2016 Leveraging the Methodological Affordances of Facebook: Social Networking Strategies in Longitudinal Writing Research Jenna Pack Sheffield and Amy C. Kimme Hea Abstract: While composition studies researchers have examined the ways social media are impacting our lives inside and outside of the classroom, less attention has been given to the ways in which social media—specifically Social Network Sites (SNSs)—may enhance our own research methods and methodologies by helping to combat research participant attrition and build a community around a research project. In this article, we share some of the successes and shortfalls of using SNSs for research purposes, based on our own experiences using Facebook in the context of our writing program’s Longitudinal Study of Student Writers. Specifically, we present five considerations related to the integration of Facebook for research—Building a Community, Sharing Study Data, Constructing Identity, Understanding Analytics, and Conducting Usability Testing—and we discuss how these methods can be extended to other SNSs. Longitudinal research has been employed in composition studies to examine a variety of issues related to students’ writing practices, such as investigating how students transfer knowledge gleaned in writing courses to other courses in their majors or professional communication contexts (Bergmann and Zepernick; Nowacek; Wardle; Yancey, Robertson, and Taczak) to investigating students’ metacognitive awareness of their writing processes (Negretti) or even their writing memories from early composition courses (Jarratt, Mack, Sartor, and Watson) . Three institutional studies that have had a broad impact on the ways in which compositionists understand students’ composing processes are Nancy Sommers’ study of undergraduate writing at Harvard (1997- 2001), the Stanford Study of Writing led by Andrea Lunsford and Jenn Fishman (2001-2006), and the University of Denver’s Longitudinal Study of Writing conducted by Doug Hesse and colleagues (2007-2011) . Hoping to build on these studies while also exploring new concerns—particularly the metacognitive and affective dimensions of student writing over time and across contexts—a research team at the University of Arizona’s Writing Program, consisting of the Writing Program Director, Associate Director, and two Research Assistants, launched a five-year longitudinal study of student writers.{1} This mixed-methods study aims to follow a cohort of undergraduate students through their different writing experiences at the University of Arizona and one year after graduation. Although the lead researchers felt confident in designing different phases of the research project, one serious issue plagued our team: how to maintain a large enough research participant pool to gather data over the next five years. In other words, the team wrangled with the issue of attrition, or the loss of participants. As noted medical and public health researchers and sociologists have argued, attrition complicates a research team’s efforts, especially when it leads to “attrition bias” where the loss of participants from the target population can lead to statistically inaccurate data or to a less-than-representative pool of members (Miller and Hollist) . In rhetoric and composition, attrition is typically a concern for longitudinal studies because of the latter more than the former. In our research, scholars are not often arguing for generalizability, but we do want to ensure that we are working with a range of student writers in terms of social statistics and demographics. Of particular importance in our study are questions about the relationship of students’ identity formation and their affective and metacognitive relations to writing, and thus, early retention of participants is key to ensuring a diversity

FAQs

Why do the authors focus on participant attrition in longitudinal writing research?

Attrition can lead to attrition bias, producing statistically inaccurate or less representative data. In composition studies, attrition is a major concern for longitudinal projects.

What are the five considerations for integrating Facebook into research?

The article presents five considerations: building a community, sharing study data, constructing identity, understanding analytics, and conducting usability testing.

How do the authors position Facebook within retention efforts?

They use Facebook as a Social Network Site strategy to connect with participants and support trusting relationships and attention to students’ social networks, aiming to mitigate attrition and sustain diversity.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay