Emotional outcomes and mechanisms of change in online cognitive-behavioral interventions. A quantitative meta-analysis of clinical controlled studies. By Vlad Mureşan, Guy H. Montgomery, & Daniel David
KEYWORDS:
internet, cognitive-behavioral interventions, cognition, mechanisms of change,
clinical controlled studies
ABSTRACT:
Objective: The goal of the present study was to investigate whether
hypothesized cognitive mechanisms of change mediate the efficacy of
cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered online for treating depression and
anxiety disorders.
Data sources: Included articles were identified through online searches of
MEDLINE, PsychInfo and PsychArticles databases from January 1980 to March 2011.
Key terms used were “randomized trials”, “online” and “psychotherapy”, and
relevant variations of these terms. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) a
randomized clinical trial investigating the role of CBT delivered online, (2)
the patient sample had clinical or subclinical intensity emotional problems, (3)
at least one measure of potentially mediating cognitions was included in the
study, (4) the inclusion of a control group , and, (5) sufficient data were
provided to allow calculation of effect sizes. Eleven randomized clinical trials
were selected based on these criteria. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were calculated
according to published procedures.
Results revealed a moderate overall effect size of CBT (d=.67, P<.05) on the
combined cognitive and emotional outcomes. A positive impact of online CBT on
cognitive factors (d=.69, P<.05) and emotional outcomes (d=63, P<.05) was
independently demonstrated. In conclusion, cognitive-behavioral therapy
delivered online can be used as an efficacious treatment for patients with
emotional disorders. Assuming causal effects, the data indicate that cognitive
factors are an important mechanism of change in online CBT. This result is
consistent with studies of face-to-face CBT. Future online CBT interventions
that focus on changing cognitions are likely to be efficacious.
Reflective
practice online – exploring the ways social workers used an online blog for
reflection by Helen Hickson
KEYWORDS:
reflection, blog, social work, social media
ABSTRACT: Social workers are increasingly using social media for networking, peer support, reflection and fun. Social media presents exciting opportunities for social work practice; however social workers, and employers of social workers, need to understand the challenges and conflicts that can occur. This study explored the experiences of social workers who used an on-line blog for reflection, describing different levels of engagement with reflection and the development of an online community of practice to support isolated social workers. This study is significant because whilst there are many studies that describe the experiences of students using a blog for reflection, the author has been unable to identify another study that focuses on the ways social workers engaged with a blog for reflection.
A Preliminary Comparison Study of Online and
Face-to-Face Counseling: Client Perceptions of Three Factors by Courtney
Holmes and Victoria Foster
KEYWORDS:
online counseling; social presence, therapeutic relationship
ABSTRACT: This preliminary study examined the similarities and differences between online and face-to-face counseling with regard to general mental health, working alliance, and social presence. Participants included 50 current counseling clients (37 face-to-face, 13 online) who all were recruited through online mediums. Results indicated that online counseling clients perceived a significantly stronger working alliance on the total Working Alliance Inventory-Short Form as well as the Goal subscale than did those who received face-to-face only counseling. No significant differences existed between the groups on general mental health or social presence. These results suggest that a more controlled study with a larger sample might find that a strong working alliance can be developed through online counseling.
Application Review: Love is Not Abuse, reviewed by Nada Elias-Lambert & Beverly Black
Book Review:
Assistive Technologies and Other Supports for
People with Brain Impairment, (NY: Springer Publishing Company) reviewed by John
D. Fluke
Accessibility and Agency
Website Design: Stumbling Backwards? A Follow Up Study by
Kristin Friedmeyer-Trainor, Robert Vernon, & Darlene Lynch
KEYWORDS:
website design, literacy, disability, language, nonprofit agencies
ABSTRACT:
This follow-up longitudinal study examined 86 social service agency
websites that were previously examined in 2000.
The websites were examined on dimensions of the language, readability,
and disability access over a ten year period.
Data were gathered in 2000, 2005 and 2010.
The results indicate that agencies are not creating websites that are
user-friendly for diverse populations.
This is due to complex reading and comprehension levels and a lack of
language opportunities on the websites. Agencies may be able to better serve
clients by a decrease in the sophistication of the agency website, namely
reading comprehension levels.
Use of the Internet by
Informal Caregivers Assisting People with Multiple Sclerosis by Robert J.
Buchanan, Chunfeng Huang, Adele Crudden
KEYWORDS:
multiple sclerosis, caregiver, Internet
ABSTRACT:
The Internet is used to help informal caregivers provide assistance to
people with chronic illness and disability. We identified factors associated
with Internet use by informal caregivers assisting people with multiple
sclerosis (MS) using a logistic regression model. Duration of MS in the person
receiving care and caregiver age predicted lower Internet use. More hours per
week providing care and higher caregiver educational level increased odds of
Internet use. The Internet can be a low cost service delivery option to provide
education and support to caregivers assisting people with MS.
Youth in Foster Care and
Social Media: A Framework for Developing Privacy Guidelines by Dale Fitch
KEYWORDS:
Youth in foster care, Information privacy, Online social media, Critical systems
heuristics
ABSTRACT:
While youth in foster care most likely use social media websites, there appears
to be a lack of policy guidelines related to this use. When one considers youth
in foster care, the state’s mandate to provide safety, and foster parents’
rights to exercise parenting responsibilities, the notion of privacy and the use
of social media becomes complex.
Critical Systems Heuristics will be introduced as a tool in developing policy
recommendations. An application of this framework will be provided which can
serve as a guide for an agency or workgroup tasked with developing policy
guidelines for social media use by youth in foster care
Serving rural communities
with distance education degree programs by Rebecca L. Stotzer
KEYWORDS:
rural social work; distance
education program; workforce issues
ABSTRACT:
Many school of social work have targeted rural communities as critical
regions for distance education (DE) facilitated degree delivery. This paper
reports on an initial alumni survey of DE graduates in Hawai‘i, suggesting that
the DE program has been successful in its mission to address workforce shortages
in the number of social workers in rural areas. Not only are the majority of
alumni still living and working rural areas, but they are also pursuing
licensure at high rates. This study proposes that distance education not only
transforms individuals, but can also be a tool of community change.
Exploring Potential for
Information Technology Innovation in Nonprofit Organizations by Kristina Jaskyte
KEYWORDS:
Information technology,
innovation, nonprofit organizations
ABSTRACT:
This article investigated user perceptions of innovative information
technology. A qualitative analysis of information technology innovation award
applications submitted by a variety of nonprofits was conducted to explore two
research questions: (1) in what areas of organizational functioning can
information technology innovations be implemented and (2) what are the expected
benefits associated with the implementation of those information technology
innovations? The results showed that technological innovations can occur in
administrative, service, and marketing areas; and that the applicants believed
that those innovations have a potential to provide numerous positive benefits.
Those benefits were associated with clients and programs, internal and external
functioning, fundraising and financial aspects, and public image and
relationships with stakeholders. Human service organizations proposed the
highest numbers of IT innovations in the administrative and technological areas.
Technology and Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder: An interactive self-help website for OCD by Elizabeth
McIngvale, Christine Bakos-Block, John Hart, & Patrick S. Bordnick
KEYWORDS:
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD),self-help, intervention, cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure and response prevention (ERP)
ABSTRACT:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a neurobiological illness
characterized by unwanted thoughts and/or images followed by repetitive rituals.
About 5 million Americans live with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD is a
manageable illness when proper interventions are utilized. Treatment for OCD is
limited due to the lack of adequately trained professionals and the high costs
of treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in conjunction with exposure
with response prevention (ERP) is the most effective intervention modality
available for OCD. To address the treatment gap, an online, interactive
self-help website was developed for those living with OCD without access to an
effective intervention. This report will explore development of the OCD
Challenge website and future implications of its use.
Book Reviews:
Dying, Death and Grief in an Online
Universe: For Counselors and Educators, (NY: Springer Publishing Company)
reviewed by Malcolm Payne
Introduction
by Klaus Bredl, Julia Hünniger, & Jakob Linaa Jensen
Social media are becoming increasingly attractive
for users. It is a fast way to communicate ideas and can be a key source of
information about how people interact. Today it is among the most influencial
communication channels. For this reason,
social media are important for audience research as well as for
technologies that can be used in human services. Social media can be generally
understood as web-based services “that build on the ideological and
technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange
of User Generated Content” (Andreas M. Kaplan/Michael Haenlein: Users of the
world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media, Business
Horizons, Volume 53, Issue 1, January-February 2010.).
Researchers are confronted with the following
questions: How can we analyze social
media? Which methods and strategies can we use? Can we just use traditional
audience research methods and apply them to online content? Which new research
strategies have been developed? What about research ethics – which issues and
controversies do we have to pay attention to? How can we develop technical tools
for analyzing social media? Which existing tools can we use?
This special issue focuses on research strategies
and methods for analyzing social media. The special issue contains research
papers that report on the latest social science results and advances in this
area.
The chapters of this special issue include innovative research methods within the field of social media analysis. Topics are:
·
innovative research methods that shed light upon
patterns of social media use
·
qualitative observation techniques to examine the
use of social media
·
triangulation of qualitative and quantitative
methods
·
case studies and evaluations of social media
platforms such as (micro-)blogs, social networks, and video platforms
The issue starts with the paper of Fabio
Giglietto, Luca Rossi and Davide Bennato who give an overview of different
approaches for studying social media. Given the growing number of diverse
studies from different disciplines with a differing focus, the need exists for
identifying the various methodologies used. The focus of the paper is a
categorization between ethnographical, statistical and computational
perspectives. The analysis is clarified by the use of studies about Facebook,
YouTube and Twitter.
Twitter is also in the focus of the second paper
which is authored by Axel Bruns and Stefan Stieglitz. They present a comparative
study to demonstrate quantitative approaches that compare communication patterns
in microblogging platforms. As a result, distinct types of discussion were
identified. A range of metrics regarding the communications in Twitter is
presented, and the influencing factors of subjects and context in relation to
different communication channels are demonstrated. Also in the area of major
topics and events, they found stable patterns of usage from the analysis.
In the following article, Pascal Jürgens
concentrates on the “social” in social media and analyzes the aspect of
communities. Using the example of Twitter, he shows the integration occuring in
the range of digital methods used. The analytic framework starts with the
digital traces each user leaves on the net. This formerly hidden aspects of
social interaction are now accessible for researchers. Especially, it is
possible to observe the interaction patterns in networks. These new approaches
evoke special challenges, which can be overcome by the application of innovative
methodologies. The detection of communities stays at the center of the discussed
methods. The discovery of “proximity in groups” is the basis for further network
analysis.
The next paper by Tim Highfield describes topical
network analysis as a method for studying online activity. Topical networks are
units of analysis within large datasets. By using qualitative and quantitative
methods, the approach can supplement the analysis of large datasets to provide
further detail into what is being tracked. It enables researchers to determine
why and when connections were made. The paper shows an important method for
improving our understanding of the structure of online communication.
Stine Lomborg’s paper also touches upon the
analyses of large bodies of data. She discusses the method of web archiving in
qualitative social media research. She highlights that social media archives
(i.e. complete recordings of posts and comments on given social media) are
highly useful data corpuses for studying the social media users’ communicative
practices. She presents a theoretical examination of web archiving and is
engaging in an example-based discussion of the methodological, technical and
ethical challenges of harvesting social media archives.
The paper by Lünich, Rössler and Hautzer focuses
on the study of media use patterns, more precisely the impact of
relationship-related information. By studying what they call social navigation
on the Internet, i.e., media use patterns that are driven by the previous media
activities of others, the authors shed light on the dynamics of relationships
within online media content. By using mainly online news media, they discuss how
to investigate rating, forwarding, and even the production of media items.
In their paper Siibak, Forsman and Hernwall take
a more qualitative, anthropologically inspired approach and discuss creative
research methods as a tool for investigating young people’s identity
construction on social network sites. Methodologically, they address physical
focus groups combined with online interaction as a way to observe the
construction and use of gender codes and norms. They argue that such creative
research methods are useful for engaging young people in participatory, creative
activities, thereby facilitating reflections and interactions not attainable
through alternative methods.
Matthew Crick’s paper presents his point of
departure in YouTube which he claims is the least scholarly researched form of
social media, particularly when it comes to so-called under-represented and
under-researched populations. He builds up a formalized approach based on
systematic measurement to study how YouTube is used for information seeking and
learning among young people, a topic often neglected in similar studies. Thus,
he claims, such an approach should provide valuable information about use, which
is normally neglected in the dominant research on social media.
Tara La Rose presents a case study of a digital
media story on YouTube that gives a glimpse into a student intern’s experience
of human service work. By using multi-modal analysis, LaRose provides a complex
understanding of the potential role that social media processes may play in
human services. The paper shows the complexity of personal stories and the need
for additional research into the possibilities of digital media stories.
The last paper also deals with new technologies
in human services and the health sector and seeks methods to analyze these new
formats. In their paper, Bouman, Drossaert and Pieterse propose a new
methodology to measure the potential impact of new digital health communication
formats. It is called Mark My Words (MMW) and is based on the concept of
“markers” and on data analysis via text mining techniques. MMW is being used to
evaluate the impact of a web-based Entertainment-Education series on teens and
young adults in the Netherlands. MMW is applied in an innovative web-based
Entertainment-Education series. The paper outlines the research design and shows
the methodological advantages and challenges.
The content of the book addresses scientists
who are dealing with the use and effect of Social Media in communication
processes. The focus is on different methods of analyzing social interaction in
online communication. These innovative research methods target the interest of
media and communication researchers, sociologists, social science researcher
and media psychologists as well as all practitioners working with methods
in applied research on social media.
Articles
The Open Laboratory: Limits and Possibilities of Using Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube as a Research Data Source by
Fabio Giglietto,
Luca Rossi, & Davide Bennato
KEYWORDS:
Computational social science, ethnography, methodology, social media,
literature review
ABSTRACT:
A growing amount of content is published worldwide every day by millions
of social media users. Most of this content is public, permanent and searchable.
At the same time, the number of studies proposing different techniques and
methodologies to exploit this content as data for researchers in different
disciplines is also growing. The paper presents an up-to-date literature review
that frames available studies using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as data
sources, in the perspective of traditional approaches for social scientists:
ethnographical, statistical and computational. The aim is to offer an overview
of strengths and weaknesses of different approaches in the context of the
possibilities offered by the different platforms.
Quantitative
Approaches to Comparing Communication Patterns on Twitter by Axel Bruns & Stefan
Stieglitz
KEYWORDS:
Twitter, social media, public communication, media events, communicative
patterns
ABSTRACT:
To date, available literature mainly discusses Twitter activity patterns
in the context of individual case studies, while comparative research on a large
number of communicative events, their dynamics and patterns is missing. By
conducting a comparative study of more than forty different cases (covering
topics such as elections, natural disasters, corporate crises, and televised
events) we identify a number of distinct types of discussion which can be
observed on Twitter. Drawing on a range of communicative metrics, we show that
thematic and contextual factors influence the usage of different communicative
tools available to Twitter users, such as original tweets, @replies, retweets,
and URLs. Based on this first analysis of the overall metrics of Twitter
discussions, we also demonstrate stable patterns in the use of Twitter in the
context of major topics and events.
Communities of
Communication: Making Sense of the "social" in Social Media by Pascal Jürgens
KEYWORDS: Network Analysis,
Community Detection, Computational Social Science, Digital Methods, Twitter
ABSTRACT:
As social media usage permeates people’s lives, an increasing portion of
their daily behavior leaves digital traces to be used by researchers. Social
scientists can hope to gain new insight into the previously hidden but digitally
recorded aspects of our digital social lives. Beyond aggregate and
individual-level studies of user behavior, the digital traces also enable
scientific examination of the structure of social interaction through networks.
At the same time, the large scale and networked nature of social media data pose
a new set of challenges to be overcome through the development of sound
methodologies. We take stock of current methodological promises and challenges
in social media analysis. Community detection, a set of methods for the
discovery of closely knit groups, is then presented as an intermediary step that
enables application of existing traditional and network analytical approaches in
a smaller setting more suited to social scientific questions. In closing, we
argue that this network proximity based clustering is often more useful for
social media analysis than demographic grouping.
Researching
communicative practice: Web archiving in qualitative social media research by
Stine Lomborg
KEYWORDS: social media, web
archiving, qualitative methods, communicative practices, audience studies
ABSTRACT:
This article discusses the method of web archiving in qualitative social
media research. While presenting a number of methodological challenges, social
media archives (i.e. complete recordings of posts and comments on given social
media) are also highly useful data corpuses for studying the social media users’
communicative practices. Through a theoretical examination of web archiving as a
new method enabled by the web itself, and an example-based discussion of the
methodological, technical and ethical challenges of harvesting social media
archives, the article discusses the merits and limitations of using social media
archives in empirical social media research.
Talking of many
things: Using topical networks to study discussions in social media by Tim
Highfield
KEYWORDS:
(Topical) networks, Social media, Hyperlinks, Blogs, Public
debate, Issue publics
ABSTRACT:
This paper outlines a method for studying online activity using both
qualitative and quantitative methods: topical network analysis. A topical
network refers to “the collection of sites commenting on a particular event or
issue, and the links between them” (Highfield, Kirchhoff, & Nicolai, 2011, p.
341). The approach is a complement for the analysis of large datasets enabling
the examination and comparison of different discussions as a means of improving
our understanding of the uses of social media and other forms of online
communication. Developed for an analysis of political blogging, the method also
has wider applications for other social media websites such as Twitter.
Social Navigation on the Internet:
A Framework for the Analysis of Communication Processes
by Marco Lünich, Patrick Rössler, & Lena Hautzer
KEYWORDS:
Social Navigation, Online Content Analysis, Multi-method Design,
Algorithms, Social Media Applications
ABSTRACT:
The term ‘Social Navigation’ (SN) refers to media use patterns that are
driven by the previous media activities of others. This phenomenon is widely
encountered in Social Media environments, which allow users to easily leave and
receive information. However, investigating the variety of SN actions such as
rating, forwarding, and even producing media items oneself, increases the
prevalent challenges of empirical research on web content. The article reflects
on these challenges and offers possible solutions via the example of a pilot
study concerning online news based on a multi-method design with a particular
emphasis on online content analysis. Special attention is devoted to the
dynamics of online media and online news in particular, data reactivity during
research, algorithmic content production, and the impact of relationship-related
information.
Employing Creative Research Methods with
Tweens in Estonia and Sweden:
Reflections on a case study of identity construction on
social networking sites by Andra Siibak, Michael Forsman, & Patrik Hernwall
KEYWORDS:
creative research methods; gender; tweens; identity; social networking
sites,
ABSTRACT:
In this article we discuss our experiences from setting up workshops,
inspired by creative research methods (Gauntlett 2005; 2007), on the theme of
construction of online identities by young people (aged 13-14) in Estonia and in
Sweden. Our primary focus is on the opportunities and possible challenges
involved when using creative research methods to study the identity construction
process of young people by engaging them in participatory, creative activities.
Our experiences indicate that such an approach can be especially beneficial when
working with young people, as it enabled us to observe the actual construction
and usage of gender codes and norms, both in the offline peer group context and
in an online setting.
Social Media Use in the Bronx:
New Research and Innovations in the Study of YouTube’s
Digital Neighborhood by Matthew Crick
KEYWORDS:
YouTube, Social Networking, Bronx, Surveillance, Internet
ABSRACT:
YouTube has surpassed other social media platforms on a massive scale in
application and influence, and has recently begun to impact the way people
seek-out and use information, learn about the world, and share their own unique
perspective often with an international audience. However, this ubiquitous form
of social media is perhaps the least scholarly researched form of social media,
particularly when it comes to so-called under-represented and under-researched
populations. Generally speaking, formalized social-media theoretical tools and
systematic measurement have been lacking as well. YouTube exemplifies the
tension between an empowered user and powerful commerce-driven creators in the
battle for media control and demands scholarly analysis.
Digital Media
Stories Through Multi-modal Analysis: A Case Study of Erahoneybee’s Song about a
Child Welfare Agency by Tara La Rose
KEYWORDS:
reflexive practice, social work, digital media storytelling, multi-modal
analysis, discourse analysis
ABSTRACT:
Tuber Erahoneybee’s digital media story Song About a Child Welfare Agency
provides YouTube audiences with a glimpse into a student intern’s experience of
human service work. This paper uses Erahoneybee’s story as a case study in the
application of multi-modal analysis with digital media story texts. Application
of multi-modal analysis in this way supports multiple and open readings of these
texts which highlight meanings made from the multiple communication modes and
the convergence of these modes present in this digital story. The analysis
suggests the complex and political nature of personal stories of human service
work and the need for additional research into the possibilities of digital
media stories in the field.
Mark My Words: The Design of
an Innovative Methodology to Detect and Analyze Interpersonal Health
Conversations in Web and Social Media by Martine, P.A. Bouman, Constance H.C.
Drossaert, & Marcel, E. Pieterse,
KEYWORDS: computer mediated communication
(CMC), entertainment education, media research, social media, health
communication, text and data mining techniques.
ABSTRACT:
Internet technology in which social media play a central role, offers new
opportunities for health communication. The Center for Media & Health (CMH) in
the Netherlands in collaboration with the University of Twente developed a
methodology called Mark My Words (MMW) to detect and monitor interpersonal
conversations on social media. The MMW methodology is based on the concept of
“markers” and on data analysis via text mining techniques. MMW is applied in an
innovative web-based Entertainment-Education series, called SndBites. This
article describes the design of this new research methodology and shares the
methodological advantages and challenges.