What is Categories of Inquiry and Scholarship

This chapter explores how, in a single decade (1995-2005), research into computer-mediated communication (CMC) has evolved by examining the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (JCMC). JCMC is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, open-access electronic journal that publishes primarily empirical research and presents a significant body of work falling under the rubric of CMC. JCMC has published diverse scholarly articles that further researchers’ and practitioners’ knowledge and understanding of CMC. This chapter synthesizes the research results presented in JCMC during its first 10 years of publication, examining the topics, methodologies, and populations utilized in those articles as well as an interpretation of the trends present in the research. Within the 279 articles analyzed, nine major categories of sample populations and eight different broad research methods were determined, and eleven broad categories of inquiry and scholarship were identified. There was no indication of any clear trends in CMC research.