This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by DOWNES, E. J. Articles by McMILLAN, S. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Defining Interactivity

A Qualitative Identification of Key Dimensions

Boston University

SALLY J. McMILLAN

University of Tennessee

The literature on interactivity includes many assumptions and some definitions but few tools for operationalizing the concept of interactivity in computer-mediated environments. This article takes an early step in filling that gap. In-depth interviews with 10 individuals who work and teach in the field of interactive communication led to a conceptual definition of interactivity based on six dimensions: direction of communication, time flexibility, sense of place, level of control, responsiveness, and perceived purpose of communication. Suggestions are made for applying these dimensions to multiple forms of computer-mediated communication. Future research should empirically test the existence and application of these dimensions.

Key Words: computer-mediated communication • interactivity

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. K. Halone The Structuration of Racialized Sport Organizing Journal of Communication Inquiry, January 1, 2008; 32(1): 22 - 42. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. Goggin and C. Spurgeon Premium rate culture: the new business of mobile interactivity New Media Society, October 1, 2007; 9(5): 753 - 770. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Macdonald Television debate, `interactivity' and public opinion: the case of the BBC's `Asylum Day' Media Culture Society, July 1, 2007; 29(4): 679 - 689. [PDF]

				A. Kerr, J. Kucklich, and P. Brereton New media - new pleasures? International Journal of Cultural Studies, March 1, 2006; 9(1): 63 - 82. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. Cover Audience inter/active: Interactive media, narrative control and reconceiving audience history New Media Society, February 1, 2006; 8(1): 139 - 158. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. S. Yadav and R. Varadarajan Interactivity in the Electronic Marketplace: An Exposition of the Concept and Implications for Research Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, October 1, 2005; 33(4): 585 - 603. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. Livingstone Children's Use of the Internet: Reflections on the Emerging Research Agenda New Media Society, June 1, 2003; 5(2): 147 - 166. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. A.G.M. van Dijk and L. de Vos Searching for the Holy Grail: Images of Interactive Television New Media Society, December 1, 2001; 3(4): 443 - 465. [Abstract] [PDF]