Discourse Analysis Techniques for Modeling Group Interaction

This paper presents discourse analysis techniques that model the interaction of a small group of users engaged in same-place/differenttime interaction. We analyzed data from VesselWorld, our experimental testbed, and formulated a modeling technique based on the recurrence of coordination problems and the structure that users create to handle these problems. Subsequent experiments revealed that our original analysis had failed to capture issues with the cognitive load required to maintain common ground. By tracking references users make to both domain and conversational objects, we were able to extract patterns of information access and model the cognitive load incurred to maintain common ground. The improved model of user interaction was successful in explaining systems designed to support interaction.