Content in context: analyzing interactions in a graduate-level academic Facebook group

This case study investigated a Facebook group created and managed by a faculty administrator for students and alumni in a graduate-level education program. While most research to date has considered course-based applications, this research reports on how an academic Facebook group functioned as a way to interact with students, alumni, and faculty outside of a formal academic context. Borrowing methods from studies in market research, the researchers analyzed posts and user interactions on the group’s page over the course of 1 year. Posts were inductively coded into thematic categories, such as humor, student photos, and academic readings, and coded again by their mode of consumption, such as text, image, and hyperlinks. Using regression analysis, the categories and modality of posts were tested for their relationship to user interactions, which included likes, comments, and shares. Additionally, users were tallied on their frequency of interactions, and how that related to the categories of posts. Despite a large proportion of academic readings via hyperlinks, results found significantly more interactions for text and image-based posts pertaining to locally situated interests and entertaining content. This behavior was moderated by how frequently a user participated, with frequent users interacting more than expected with university notices. The results support previous research citing Facebook as primarily a means of entertainment and socialization, but with a clear advantage for student-centered content. The implication is that Facebook groups have potential in higher education contexts beyond entertainment when it’s used to support and recognize social connections among students.