Write here, write now! An experimental study of group maintenance in collaborative writing

Jeremy Birnholtz, Stephanie B. Steinhardt, Antonella Pavese

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Writing documents together using collaborative editing tools has become extremely common with the widespread availability of tools such as Google Docs. The design of such tools, rooted in early CSCW research, has historically been focused on providing awareness of the presence and activities of one's collaborators. Evidence from a recent qualitative study, however, suggests that people are also concerned about how their behaviors - and they themselves - will be perceived by others; and take steps to mitigate possible negative perceptions. We present an experimental study of dyads composing documents together, focusing in particular on group maintenance, impression management and relationship-focused behavior. Results suggest that communication is positively related to social relations, but only for synchronous writing in a shared space; the reverse can be true in asynchronous commenting and editing.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCHI 2013
Subtitle of host publicationChanging Perspectives, Conference Proceedings - The 31st Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Pages961-970
Number of pages10
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event31st Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Changing Perspectives, CHI 2013 - Paris, France
Duration: Apr 27 2013May 2 2013

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Other

Other31st Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Changing Perspectives, CHI 2013
Country/TerritoryFrance
CityParis
Period4/27/135/2/13

Keywords

  • Awareness
  • Collaborative writing
  • Group maintenance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

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