**7. Data analysis, findings and discussions: Primary level analysis**

This section focuses on the analysis undertaken at the primary level only. It reports on the analyses conducted, the findings generated from those analyses and seeks to provide some tentative interpretation of those findings.

#### **7.1 Frequency count of key terms**

A word or short phrase, appearing in the annotations, was considered a key term, depending on its function in the essay topic. Specifically words that served as indicators of the areas for which the search was to be conducted, were considered key terms. Main verbs, that is those verbs that served as anchor for the whole unit of meaning were not included as a key term and were accounted for separately. The key terms identified were 'mobile phone', 'people's lifestyles', 'significant changes' and 'landline'.

Where only part of the term was used, for example 'mobile' or 'lifestyle' or where the expression was completed , as in 'landline phone', these were also accepted as meeting the criteria of a key term. Also accepted were pronouns referring to any of these nouns or noun phrases. Additionally, synonyms of these expressions, for example 'cell phone', 'fixed lines', 'people's daily life' , 'the lives of citizens', 'changing effects'were accepted.

While principal verbs did not qualify for inclusion as key terms, there was one situation where a verb and its synonyms in the verb extension were seen as warranting inclusion as key terms. In these limited cases, the idea of 'change' expressed as a verb in the verb extension, was counted as a key term (See Exhibit 2).

#### **Exhibit 2: Examples of 'change' as a verb included as a key term**

**MP 51:** How the cell phone's ever changing capabilities … **have changed** the way people conduct business.

**MP 58:** … how the use of mobile phones **affect** the lives of citizens.

Table 2 provides a frequency count of the appearance of each of the terms, inclusive of their synonyms, in the annotations selected for analysis. It should be noted that these appeared primarily in the verb extension.

Frequency count of key terms used in relation to one another in the same unit of

Classification and coding of the units of meaning relative to their function in the

At the secondary level, the analysis shifted to the inductive and was purely qualitative. The codes generated at the primary level, in association with the key terms identified, formed the basis for making observations about likely strategies that students were employing to

The above provided the framework within which the actual data analysis was undertaken.

This section focuses on the analysis undertaken at the primary level only. It reports on the analyses conducted, the findings generated from those analyses and seeks to provide some

A word or short phrase, appearing in the annotations, was considered a key term, depending on its function in the essay topic. Specifically words that served as indicators of the areas for which the search was to be conducted, were considered key terms. Main verbs, that is those verbs that served as anchor for the whole unit of meaning were not included as a key term and were accounted for separately. The key terms identified were 'mobile phone',

Where only part of the term was used, for example 'mobile' or 'lifestyle' or where the expression was completed , as in 'landline phone', these were also accepted as meeting the criteria of a key term. Also accepted were pronouns referring to any of these nouns or noun phrases. Additionally, synonyms of these expressions, for example 'cell phone', 'fixed lines',

While principal verbs did not qualify for inclusion as key terms, there was one situation where a verb and its synonyms in the verb extension were seen as warranting inclusion as key terms. In these limited cases, the idea of 'change' expressed as a verb in the verb

**MP 51:** How the cell phone's ever changing capabilities … **have changed** the way people

Table 2 provides a frequency count of the appearance of each of the terms, inclusive of their synonyms, in the annotations selected for analysis. It should be noted that these appeared

'people's daily life' , 'the lives of citizens', 'changing effects'were accepted.

**7. Data analysis, findings and discussions: Primary level analysis** 

Frequency count of key terms of essay topic as observed in the units of meaning.

Classification and coding of the main verb relative to its use in the annotation.

meaning.

annotation.

produce the annotations.

**6.4.2 Secondary level of analysis** 

tentative interpretation of those findings.

'people's lifestyles', 'significant changes' and 'landline'.

extension, was counted as a key term (See Exhibit 2).

conduct business.

primarily in the verb extension.

**Exhibit 2: Examples of 'change' as a verb included as a key term** 

**MP 58:** … how the use of mobile phones **affect** the lives of citizens.

**7.1 Frequency count of key terms** 


Table 2. Frequency count of key terms in annotations.

In terms of direct referencing therefore, one cannot ignore the stark difference between the number of times 'mobile phone' appeared compared with the number recorded for each of the other three terms.

While one cannot be sure of the factors that gave rise to this situation, it is evident that, in students' interpretation of the essay question, the term mobile phone emerged as the primary term that they needed to focus on. It is also likely that this term was the main key word used to guide their search for sources relative to the essay topic. Alternatively, to the extent that other key words were used, and appeared in the documents sourced, these were not accorded the same importance in the constructing of the annotations and were largely ignored.

#### **7.2 Frequency count of key terms in relation to one another**

When one looks at the essay topic closely, it becomes evident that what is needed is not simply that all key terms should be equally represented in the annotations, but that they should be used in relation to one another. This way of viewing the terms is mirrored in the topic itself. It can be argued that one important way of showing that relationship is to use the relevant terms in the same sentence, or, in the context of this study, in the same unit of meaning. This only happened minimally between the term 'mobile phone' and any of the other terms.

A further examination shows that of the thirty one (31) times that the term 'landline' appeared, it was used in the same unit of meaning with the 'mobile phone' twenty eight (28) times. What this indicates is that of the few student teams that recognized the landline phone as an important component of their search, the majority of them also considered it important to recognize a relationship between the two communication devices.

The following are examples of how relationships manifested themselves in the annotations.

#### **Exhibit 3: Examples of units of meaning showing two terms in relation to each other**

**MP 17**: Relevant background information is given about how it [the mobile phone] has made significant changes to people's lifestyles as compared to the fixed line.

**MP 103:** [The case study] is about managing communications repertoire in relation to mobile versus landline.

**MP128:** Also, this source presents information in relation to the number of households which may be considered cell phone only or landline only households.

It is important to note that at this stage of the analysis, no attention is paid to the nature of the relationship and whether the way terms are used in relation to one another, adequately serves the requirements of the essay topic. All that is acknowledged is that by using the terms in close proximity to one another, there is a recognition of a relationship.

An Analysis of the Search Skills of Online Graduate Students as

as follows:

the Basis for the Development of Appropriate Instructional Strategies 223

Even when higher order verbs were used, for example, 'analyzes' and 'argues', their use was not done in a way to reveal the higher order processes inherent in the meaning of the term.

While the above reflects the way verbs were used in the data collected, there was a minority set that did not conform to this pattern. In these cases, the agent of the verb was some entity or situation that the unit of meaning was making some statement about. Two examples are

MP23 The use of cell phones HAS REDUCED The chance of people conversing with

Except in a few cases, all of the essential meaning-bearing content of the annotations was contained in the verb extension. This was not unexpected since students were basically following the standard format for writing an annotation, as already observed in the coding of the principal verb. This data was analyzed to identify the nature of the content students were using to construct the summaries that, as mentioned before, comprised the annotations. In this phase of the analysis, the deductive approach continued to apply not only with reference to the essay topic but also against the backdrop of established criteria for writing a summary. However, the inductive was also applied at this stage since one also needed to examine attributes inherent in the text to identify what they revealed about the strategies the students were using to construct their summaries. Based on a preliminary review, four

One category was viewed as providing overviews about what the original document was conveying about the topic or object of interest. A unit of meaning was classified as an 'Overview', if it appeared to be painting a broad picture of some item or object within it. In the context of this study, that item or object was, in most cases, one of the key terms identified earlier, or a combination of more than one of these terms. While this was the typical situation, in a few cases, other terms occupied this position. Whether as a single item or as a combination, this entity was deemed to be the focal point in the Overview. A second feature of the unit of meaning classified as an Overview was that, in relation to the focal point, it only provided broad information without going into specific details. However, in the third feature, some element of the text in the unit, served as an indicator of specifics

Exhibit 4 demonstrates the analysis outlined above. Note too that, as stated earlier, it is the

strangers.

Essentially therefore, like the others, theirs was an information-transmission role.

**Data ID Agent of verb VERB Verb Extension** 

MP48 Mobile technology IS EVOLVING On a daily basis.

Table 4. Exception to standard verb function.

categories of text were identified.

**7.4.1 Category #1 – Overview** 

**7.4 Classification and coding of units of meaning** 

about the focal point that would come later in the annotation.

verb extension that is the basis for this analysis.
