Mazuro, Cath, and Namrata Rao. "Online discussion forums in higher education: Is lurking working." International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education 2.2 (2011): 364-371.

This research investigates the phenomenon of "lurking" in online discussion forums within Higher Education, focusing on a group of 18 students from an Education Studies course. While lurking is often viewed negatively, the study reveals that students engaged in this behavior primarily due to a lack of academic confidence. Interestingly, those who lurked still benefited from the forum activity, suggesting that passive observation can facilitate learning. The findings highlight important implications for educators and the design of discussion forums.