Productive discussions for online collaborative creativity

TL;DR: In this paper, a framework to analyze discourse in function of innovation, creativity, and knowledge production is proposed, and qualitative data were qualitatively analyzed according to Hymes (1974) ethnography of communication, concluding that the creative collaborative process is transactional and intertwines the divergent and convergent thinking.

Abstract: Actual research shows that important creative insights typically occur in collaborative groups, and highlight some collaborative processes that can further collective creations. However, it is necessary to have a better understanding of the processes whereby innovations emerge from groups. In order to have a deeper understanding of the multiple facets of collaborative creative processes in online discussion environments, it is discussed in this work a framework to analyze discourse in function of innovation, creativity, and knowledge production. Empirical data were qualitatively analyzed according to Hymes (1974) ethnography of communication. Qualitative content analysis evidenced that creative collaborative process is transactional and intertwines the divergent and convergent thinking. Despite it involves the generation of new ideas  or the recombination of known elements into something new that  relies on imagination, the divergent thinking, the random and considers multiple solutions and alternatives, it also involves the convergent thinking, that depends on a systematic search for solution and multiple evaluative actions.