ISSS608 2016-17 T1 Assign2 Ho Li Chin

Abstract

In this assignment, the interactive data exploration and the analysis techniques will be applied to discovery patterns in multivariate data.

Theme of Interest

In this assignment, the dataset that have been chosen for the analysis is “wiki4HE Data Set” (https://archive.ics.uci.edu/ml/datasets/wiki4HE).

The theme of interest is to explore the factors affecting the use of Wikipedia in Higher Education. Wiki technology emerged in higher education teaching and learning experiences as early as 1999 and is integrated into many courses for its ability to provide a collaborative environment for Academic staff and students.

The objective of this assignment is to understand the main factors that influence the teaching uses of Wikipedia among university faculty staff, and any of those factors have significant direct impact on the Behavioral Intention of adopting Wikipedia in higher education, for providing more effective and efficient methods to maximize the teaching and learning experience.

Examine the Survey Questions

In this section, we will first examine the survey questions in the dataset. The survey questions are categorized into respective broader category, and each category is linked to one construct measure for investigation. The following measures will be considered to further derive the investigation questions in next section for the purpose of the analysis.

Survey Question Category	Survey Questions (Variables)	Measures
Perceived Usefulness	PU1: The use of Wikipedia makes it easier for students to develop new skills. PU2: The use of Wikipedia improves students' learning PU3: Wikipedia is useful for teaching User perception of technological innovations using wiki technology	User perception of technological innovations using wiki technology
Perceived Ease of Use	PEU1: Wikipedia is user friendly PEU2: It is easy to find in Wikipedia the information you seek PEU3: It is easy to add or edit information in Wikipedia	User perception of technological innovations using wiki technology
Perceived Enjoyment	ENJ1: The use of Wikipedia stimulates curiosity ENJ2: The use of Wikipedia is entertaining	User perception of technological innovations using wiki technology
Use behaviour	USE1: I use Wikipedia to develop my teaching materials USE2: I use Wikipedia as a platform to develop educational activities with students USE3: I recommend my students to use Wikipedia USE4: I recommend my colleagues to use Wikipedia USE5: I agree my students use Wikipedia in my courses	Motivation to use wiki
Experience	EXP1: I consult Wikipedia for issues related to my field of expertise EXP2: I consult Wikipedia for other academic related issues EXP3: I consult Wikipedia for personal issues EXP4: I contribute to Wikipedia (editions, revisions, articles improvement...) EXP5: I use wikis to work with my students	Motivation to use wiki
Job relevance	JR1: My university promotes the use of open collaborative environments in the Internet JR2: My university considers the use of open collaborative environments in the Internet as a teaching merit	Motivation to use wiki
Sharing attitude	SA1: It is important to share academic content in open platforms SA2: It is important to publish research results in other media than academic journals or books SA3: It is important that students become familiar with online collaborative environments	Collaborative Mindset / Attitude
Profile 2.0	PF1: I contribute to blogs PF2: I actively participate in social networks PF3: I publish academic content in open platforms	Collaborative Mindset / Attitude
Quality	QU1: Articles in Wikipedia are reliable QU2: Articles in Wikipedia are updated QU3: Articles in Wikipedia are comprehensive QU4: In my area of expertise, Wikipedia has a lower quality than other educational resources QU5: I trust in the editing system of Wikipedia	Perceived quality of wiki information
Social Image	IM1: The use of Wikipedia is well considered among colleagues IM2: In academia, sharing open educational resources is appreciated IM3: My colleagues use Wikipedia	Social Influence
Visibility	VIS1: Wikipedia improves visibility of students' work VIS2: It is easy to have a record of the contributions made in Wikipedia VIS3: I cite Wikipedia in my academic papers	Social Influence
Behavioral intention	BI1: In the future I will recommend the use of Wikipedia to my colleagues and students BI2: In the future I will use Wikipedia in my teaching activity Incentives	Intention to use wiki
Incentives	INC1: To design educational activities using Wikipedia, it would be helpful: a best practices guide INC2: To design educational activities using Wikipedia, it would be helpful: getting instruction from a colleague INC3: To design educational activities using Wikipedia, it would be helpful: getting specific training INC4: To design educational activities using Wikipedia, it would be helpful: greater institutional recognition	Pedagogical Support to use wiki

Questions for Investigation

From the construct measures as defined in Section 2, following are the evolved list of questions for investigation. Different visualizations will be constructed ito present the data and to answer the questions as clearly as possible.

List of questions for investigation:

a) Relationship between the different measures that could influence the uses of Wikipedia among university faculty.

   * What are the positive factors and negative influence factors?

b) Understanding of each measure, as listed below, that could influence the behavior intention to use Wikipedia

  * User perception of technological innovations using wiki technology (Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment using wiki)
  * Motivation factors to use Wikipedia 
  * The mindset / attitude on collaborative practice using wiki
  * Perceived quality of information using wiki
  * Social influence 

c) Finally, putting all the measures as in part (2) together, we would like to find out:

  * Any identification of variables (e.g. age, academic position, current wiki user etc) that could influence the behavior intention to use wiki

  * Detect any skeptical attitudes in university faculty regards using Wikipedia in class 
    and establish if they are related to generational and disciplinary factors 
    or any implicit conflict between the scientific academic culture and Wikipedia culture.

Analysis of Wiki For Higher Education Dataset through Visualisation

Visualisation to answer the questions under investigation

Understanding the Demographics Profiles of the University Faculty Staff

First, before we analyse on the survey variables that could affect the usage behavior of wiki among the University staff, let’s take a look on the demographics information of University faculty staff participated in survey.