[Air-L] Methods question

[Derek Hansen]

I have a methods question that I'm hoping someone can provide some
pointers and insights into. I am going to use a method that seems like
it would have been used before, but I've had trouble hunting down
examples, likely because they would be buried in literature from many
different disciplines. Here is the scenario...

I am going to perform a study of an IM interaction. I will have
approximately 100 pairs that will communicate with each other via IM.
People on one side of the interaction will ask a question and people
on the other side will answer the question. After the interaction,
each participant will fill out a brief questionnaire about the
interaction. I am interested in comparing the different perceptions of
the same interaction (e.g., the timeliness and quality of the
interaction).

Have any of you performed a similar study where people are paired up
for some experience and then individually asked what their perceptions
of the experience were? If so, do you have any pointers to papers or
methods texts that I could review to get ideas on the specific
analysis techniques or questions that I may want to consider? Any
suggestions would be well appreciated.

Regards,
Derek Hansen
Assistant Professor
College of Information Studies
University of Maryland