Corich, Stephen, and L. M. Kinshuk. "Measuring critical thinking within discussion forums using a computerised content analysis tool." the Proceedings of Networked Learning (2006).

With the rise of online learning, discussion forums have become a popular tool for fostering collaboration among distance education students. Researchers analyze forum transcripts to study cognitive and metacognitive activities. This paper reviews methodologies for measuring cognitive processes and critical thinking in forums, including the use of automated content analysis tools. It introduces a new computerized tool designed to compare different content analysis methods and discusses its application to first-year undergraduate discussion forum transcripts, comparing results with manually coded data.