Abstract:

This paper describes the development and implementation of a teaching methodology that engaged students in the use of online consumer reviews for developing knowledge on the topics of service management and quality. The paper offers a comprehensive description of the methodology employed to develop and implement class projects involving the selection and analysis of online content conducted in 2018, targeted to post-graduation students in the field of public administration. This work offers a timely and relevant contribution for the development of competences for making sense of the increasing volume of online content, by means of developing learning projects rooted in up-to-date empirical data, and allowing for important gains in students’ motivation, engagement and learning.

The proposed methodology for the conduction of student projects building on online data allows for the acquaintance of students with several competences that are critical for sense making from online sources, including sample definition, and the collection and validation of online texts and facts. Students were organized into groups and received training for collecting, cleaning and analyzing data from user reviews, for public hospitals, that were available in social media platforms. Such data, also known as electronic Word of Mouth (e-WOM) involves statements, either positive or negative, produced by users or customers about products, services or organizations made available through multiple online sources, including opinion platforms, discussion forums, news groups, etc. The data analysis process was structured in order to allow students to associate the elements and sentiments expressed in the reviews’ to prevalent service quality constructs as documented in service quality literature, such as service responsiveness, reliability, assurance, among others. The results of the group projects were shared both in the form of written reports, and publicly presented and discussed with academics and with representatives from public administration, notably from the health sector.

The learning experience shared in this paper is aligned with the increasing calls for the development of active learning methodologies that allow for the promotion of problem-solving and analytical skills. The proposed student projects address also the calls for the qualification of individuals for making sense of the increasing volume of available data that is enabled by the proliferation of digital technologies in production and consumption systems. Whereas on-line reviews offer a rich source of customer insights, the ability to use them in a concise and timely manner is no easy task. The volume of information can be huge, redundant, and often mixing arguments of positive and negative nature, making interpretation slow and complex. Higher education curricula and teaching approaches are still evolving towards the full integration of such new resources into their practices. This paper offers several contributions to the advancement in this domain, notably by: describing the methodology and pedagogical approach of the proposed students’ project, offering examples from the project results developed by the students, and sharing recommendations and lessons learned from the project implementation, therefore allowing for the replication of the learning experience in other education contexts.

Keywords:

Online content, eWOM, active learning.