1. Presenter MC
Ray Poynter Daniel Alexander-Head
Executive Vice President Vice President Marketing
The webinar will start at 3pm UK time
The art and the science of moderating online discussions
23 February 2012

2. Presenter MC
Ray Poynter Daniel Alexander-Head
Executive Vice President Vice President Marketing
The art and the science of moderating online discussions
23 February 2012

3. Agenda
1. Types of discussion
2. The aims of moderation
3. Key strategies
4. The link between analysis and moderation
5. Five Tips

4. Types of Discussions
Naturally Occurring Purposed Discussions
Social networks Online Focus Groups
Microblogging Bulletin Board Focus Groups
Interest communities Post Survey Forum
Comment fields MROCs
Review sites Community Panels
Chat in games

5. 3 Key Distinctions
1. Synchronous vs Asynchronous
2. Time
Short (1 to 2 hours)
Medium (1 to 7 days)
Long (1 to 12 weeks)
3. Process
Every member comments on every question
Discussion model

6. OLFG and BBFG
Plenty of notes already exist
Have a detailed discussion guide before you start
Basic model = question and answer
– 2 moderators for OLFG
Advanced model
– Homework
– Sub-groups
– Creative tasks
– Collaborative tasks
– Blogging, commenting, and tagging

7. Community Discussions
MROCs Community Panels

8. Survivor Bias & Community
Moderation
Because it has usually worked in the past does
not mean
1. It is the best way
2. It is better than the way others are moderating
3. It will work for other people (there may be
things you are doing you are not aware of)
4. It will work for you in the future

10. Preparation
Day Target Tasks
1 Welcome and Describe family and do a pantry audit, ideally with photos
context setting
2 Reasons for multi- Why do we have multiple packs of some items in the home?
pack storage Explore types of food, retailer vending, faster usage, stand-by,
long shelf life
3 Items not in multi- What sorts of items would you not have in multiple packs in
pack storage your home? Probe why?
Explore whether other types of people might have them,
what types?
4 Types of pasta There are many types of pasta, in terms of content, shape,
and cooking time. Why might some people have more types
in their pantry than others? What sorts of people have what
sorts of pasta, and bigger and smaller ranges.
5 4 pasta proposals Here are four ideas that are being reviewed for pasta. What
are you thoughts about them. Explore likes, dislikes,
suggestions, and user stereotypes.

11. Highlight what
you want

12. Start Simple
Lists
Audits
Stories about themselves

13. Highlight what
you want
Keep members
busy
Deal with off-topic
posts quickly

14. Keeping the discussion busy
Probe
Throw topics open to the crowd
Praise new posts
Email/message/sms people to start/return

15. Highlight what
you want
Keep members
busy
Deal with off-topic
posts quickly
Reward ‘good’
Provide alternative behaviour
space for members’
topics
Stamp on
abuse

16. Safety and Ethics
Client, member, and researcher safety
Dealing with abuse
Codes of conduct
Data protection legislation
Other legislation
– Children and other vulnerable groups
– Gambling and lotteries
– Distance selling

17. Analysis and Moderation
Narrative
Model CAQDA
Link findings
to text
Member checking
Tag and code
Start at start

18. 5 Top Tips
1. Most research discourses will be with the
moderator
2. Have a clear plan, a community version of a
focus group discussion guide
3. Intervene enough to direct the conversation
and to create the right depth of response
4. Email/message/SMS people at start and
when more feedback required
5. Start the analysis at the beginning of
fieldwork

19. Thank You

20. Q&A
Ray Poynter Daniel Alexander-Head
Executive Vice President Vice President Marketing