Tatiana: an environment to support the CSCL analysis process

Abstract

The analysis of multimodal computer-mediated human interaction data is difficult: the diverse nature of this data and its sheer quantity is challenging enough, but a further obstacle is introduced by the complex nature of these interactions. In this paper, we describe the kinds of activities performed by researchers wishing to analyze this data. We present a model for analysis based on these activities. We then introduce Tatiana (Trace Analysis Tool for Interaction Analysts) as an environment based on this model and designed to assist researchers in managing, synchronizing, visualizing and analyzing their data by iteratively creating artifacts which further their understanding or exhibit their current understanding of their data. We show how Tatiana can be used to perform analyses and its potential for sharing corpora and analyses within the research community.