| Chapter 1: | Study One: Introduction / Overview of Study Goals |
The final result is a series of connections that portrays the most frequently chosen paths between each pair of nodes in the system (Barab, Fajen, Kulikowich, & Young, 1996). Pathfinder networks can be applied to both human knowledge structures and web-based information structures, allowing the two to be compared for similarities. Furthermore, because the pathfinder networks are generated from proximity data, it does not require individuals to actually generate concept maps. The data needed for such an analysis can be garnered from a matrix of concepts (similar to that described above in the discussion of density) using values to indicate the strength of each relationship instead of merely indicating a dichotomous (yes / no) relationship between each concept. For instance, subjects could be asked to indicate the strength of each relationship using a 1 (weakly related) to 7 (strongly related) scale (Jonassen, et al.). It should be noted that computer based programs can automate the process of generating pathfinder networks based on the proximity data provided (Jonassen, et al., 1993).
Environment / Hypermedia
The purpose of this study was to examine hypermedia learning from the WWW. The focus was not on web-enhanced courses, but use of the WWW as an information provider. Furthermore, the focus of this study was on the web of interconnected pages of information known as the WWW and not the more broadly based Internet, which encompasses not only this web of pages, but also e-mail and other devices for interpersonal communication between individuals.
Often the terms hypermedia and hypertext are used interchangeably. Generally, this is not a problem because the two concepts are quite similar. Hypertext can be defined as pieces of linked information or as a web of linked information (Bieber, 2000). Hypermedia has also been defined as a network of linked nodes of information (Bieber, Vitali, Ashman, Balasubramanian, & Oinas-Kukkonen, 1997).