Online deliberation

A range of studies have suggested that group size, volume of communication, interactivity between participants, message characteristics, and social media characteristics can impact online deliberation. Differences in the effectiveness of platforms as supporting deliberation has been attributed based on numerous factors such as moderation, the availability of information, and focusing on a well defined topic. A similar study in 2012 in France found that, compared to the offline process, online deliberation was more likely to increase women’s participation and to promote the justification of arguments by participants. Research on online deliberation suggests that there are five key design considerations that will affect the quality of dialogue: asynchronous communication vs synchronous communication, post hoc moderation vs pre-moderation, empowering spaces vs un-empowering spaces, asking discrete questions vs broad questions, and the quality of information. Other scholars have suggested that successful online deliberation follows four central rules: discussions must be inclusive, rational-critical, reciprocal and respectful. == Challenges ==

Researchers have questioned the utility of online deliberation as an extension of the public sphere, questioning the extent to which online deliberation can be as effective as face-to-face interaction. Furthermore, some users who participate in online political discussions tend to engage primarily in groups that align with their existing views, indicating the possibility that online deliberation mainly promotes motivated reasoning and reinforces preexisting attitudes. == Related disciplines ==

Scholarly research into online deliberation is interdisciplinary and includes practices such as online consultation, e-participation, e-government, Citizen-to-Citizen (C2C), online deliberative polling, crowdsourcing, online facilitation, online research communities, interactive e-learning, civic dialogue in Internet forums and online chat, and group decision making that utilizes collaborative software and other forms of computer-mediated communication. Work in all these endeavors is tied together by the challenge of using electronic media in a way that deepens thinking and improves mutual understanding. == See also ==