Julie (and the list), Forgive a relatively self-serving post. This is a topic I've been interested in since about 1997. I've done several pieces of research that are all focused on trying to understand what interactivity "is." In recent years, I've found myself focusing a lot on the notion of perceived interactivity. I think this is central. My research suggests that interactivity IS in the eye of the beholder. Here's a brief bibliography. Let me know if you need copies of any of these pieces. Primary Focus on Types of Interaction McMillan, S.J. (2002). Exploring Models of Interactivity from Multiple Research Traditions: Users, Documents, And Systems. In L. Lievrouw and S. Livingston (Eds.), Handbook of New Media (pp. 162-182). London: Sage. Primary Focus on Perceived Interactivity McMillan, S.J. and Hwang, J.S. (2002). Measures of Perceived Interactivity: An Exploration of the Role of Direction of Communication, User Control, and Time in Shaping Perceptions of Interactivity. Journal of Advertising, 31(3), 41-54. Comparison of Types of Interaction and Perceived Interactivity McMillan, S.J. (2002). A Four-Part Model of Cyber-Interactivity: Some Cyber-Places are More Interactive Than Others. New Media and Society, 4(2), 271-291. McMillan, S. J. (2000). Interactivity Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Function, Perception, Involvement, and Attitude toward the Web Site. In M. A. Shaver (Ed.), Proceedings of the 2000 Conference of the American Academy of Advertising (pp. 71-78). East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University. McMillan, S. J. (2000, August). What Is Interactivity and What Does It Do? Paper presented at the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Phoenix, AZ. Primary Focus on Outcomes McMillan, S.J., Hwang, J.S., and Lee, G. (2002, August) The Message and the Mindset: Effects of Structural and Perceptual Factors on Attitude toward the Web Site. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Miami, FL. Hwang, J.S., McMillan, S.J. (2002). The Role of Interactivity and Involvement in Attitude toward the Web Site. In A. Abernathy (Ed.) Proceedings of the 2002 Conference of the American Academy of Advertising, Auburn, AL: Auburn University. Early Definitional Work McMillan, S. J., & Downes, E. J. (2000). Defining Interactivity: A Qualitative Identification of Key Dimensions. New Media and Society, 2(2), 157-179. McMillan, S. J. (1999). Advertising Age and Interactivity: Tracing Media Evolution through the Advertising Trade Press. In M. Roberts (Ed.), Proceedings of the 1999 Conference of the American Academy of Advertising (pp. 107-114). Gainesville, FL: University of Florida. McMillan, S. J., & Downes, E. J. (1998, August). Interactivity: A Qualitative Exploration of Definitions and Models. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Baltimore, MD. _______________ Sally J. McMillan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Advertising sjmcmill@utk.edu ----- Original Message ----- From: <Jmarks930@aol.com> To: <air-l@aoir.org> Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 5:21 PM Subject: [Air-l] Perceived Interactivity

Greetings everyone,

My name is Julie Marks, and I am a Ph.D. candidate at the University of North Carolina's School of Public Health. Broadly, my dissertation research is a comparison of Web and print media for health promotion among teens. I am particularly interested in how information processing and persuasion may differ based on perceptions of interactivity of the communication medium.

To that end, I am working on developing a reliable and valid scale of Perceived Interactivity that can be used across different media. To date, I have only found measures of interactivity developed for "new media" (i.e. Web or interactive CD ROM). Are any of you familiar with the Interactivity literature, or have you seen a scale which assesses Interactivity of more traditional media, such as print?(Yes, print can be interactive too).

Best Regards,

Julie T. Marks Ph.D. Candidate Department of Nutrition The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health

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