Case Study #4: FrankenTheory

latte with cream illustration of Google Analytics - photo

Boundaries in My Analysis of Google Analytics I am limiting my analysis of Google Analytics as an object of study by focusing on its activities and its data model as reported in terms of dimensions and metrics. Google defines Analytics activity as collection, collation, processing, and reporting. Google describes its data model as consisting of…
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Case Study: Scaffolding Outline

OoS: Google Analytics Activities addressed in my OoS: Collection, Collation, Processing, Reporting GA Data Model: User (Visitor), Session (Visit), Interaction (Hits) Data Model Collections and Reports: Dimensions (“descriptive attribute or characteristic of an object”) and Metrics (“Individual elements of a dimension that can be measured as a sum or ratio”) (Google, 2014). Theories & Selection…
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Case Study #3: GA and Castells’ Network Society

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Literature Review As I noted in Case Study #2, Google Analytics (GA) appears most often in scholarship as a black-boxed application that reports (presumed accurate) visitor frequency and browsing behavior on websites. Websites are said by be “successful” in terms of reported visitor traffic to the site, number of pages viewed while on the site,…
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Re/Proposed Object of Study: Google Analytics

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I’m sticking with Google Analytics as my object of study. I’m too invested in the object, and it remains an important part of my professional responsibilities and therefore an object that I need to study, whether for this class or for professional development. In fact, this month I earned another certificate of completion for a…
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Responding to Case Study #2 Outlines

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I read and responded to Amy’s ENGL894 Locklear Case Study 2 Outline and to Jenny’s Exploring the Flow of Information in LLL via Rhetorical Situation and Genre Theory. Each took a different approach to the application of theories to object of study from each other and from the one I took in my outline, and…
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Theory Application Rubric: A Class Construction

railings at water looking like rubric checkmarks

This rubric really is a social construct: class members collaborated (with a great deal of momentum generated by Maury’s contributions) on the beginnings of our rubric. While each of us likely added or removed bits of the collaborative work to personalize the rubric, I’m proud to be part of this socially constructed, class-sourced rubric development…
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Applying Foucault’s Archaeology of Knowledge to Google Analytics

street sign photo: rue foucault

 Introduction: A Brief Overview of Google Analytics Google Analytics consists of two main components: Google-programmed Javascript code embedded on each page within a website “which collects and sends visitor activity to your Google Analytics account” (“How Analytics Impacts,” 2014) and the reporting mechanism connected to the Javascript code where visitor activity is collected and displayed…
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Object of Study: Google Analytics

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I have chosen Google Analytics as my object of study for ENGL 894 Theories of Networks. More specifically, I have chosen the Google Analytics account I manage on behalf of the University of Richmond School of Professional and Continuing Studies. Although this account is a sub-account on the larger University of Richmond Google Analytics roll-up…
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