Starting Up an E-Mentoring Relationship: A User Study

Abstract

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools offer new ways for collaboration between distant parties (e.g., e-mentoring). However, this way of collaboration brings along diverse challenges, e.g., setting up a mentoring relationship in the absence of face-to-face meetings. Within a user study with eight mentor-mentee pairs, we investigated how this initial contact can be supported via an online platform. We explored what kind of communication channels are considered useful and to what extent participants reached mutual understanding (common ground). The results indicate that although participants preferred text messaging for the first contact, almost all switched to audio or video calls during the conversation to establish more closeness during the communication.