Abstract:

Researchers relate the use of Facebook by students to the theoretical framework of community of inquiry wherein the students partake in learning through inquiry, as an online resource for learners to gain knowledge in a collaborative space wherein there is constant reinforcement of concepts through continual sharing and repeated discussions on the subject amongst the learners. Current literature, however, provides little insight into how students engage in seeking mentorship in online communities on social media sites (such as Facebook), especially while seeking admission to educations for higher education in foreign countries. This paper uses Grounded Theory methodology to understand this process.

Objective:
This research seeks to answer the following research questions investigating the learning and collaboration that occurs in online communities on social networking sites:
1.What strategies employed by existing community members result in success of online communities to engage prospective students in the e-community building experience?
2.What causal mechanism is responsible for helping students build an online community of learning?
3.How does the learning experience change over the year long course of the mentorship experience? What are the outcomes achieved at the end of the academic year?

Method:
Grounded Theory presents an inductive model of theory development wherein theory emerges from field study insights, such as the views of participants interviewed. Grounded Theory method is typically used in instances to learn about the causal relationships involved in a process (consists of unfolding temporal sequences that may have identifiable markers with clear beginnings and endings and benchmarks in between).
For the purpose of this study, the archival posts posted publicly in several open and public groups on Facebook, aimed towards catering to students applying higher education in India were analyzed from the period from January 2013 to January 2015. Open coding followed by selective and axial coding was carried out on the data collected. The emerging themes and categories were then used to build a paradigm model.

Results:
The results are depicted using a visual theoretical model (interconnected concepts that are typically found in grounded theory) developed which indicates the causal conditions (having shared experiences), strategies (elaborating on daily life, providing information, bonding over topics of national concern ) and consequences (facilitating online mentor-mentee relationship) to explain this process. These findings emphasize the role of strong mentorship and community building practice from students who are pursuing higher education in the US towards those seeking higher education opportunities.

Keywords:

Grounded Theory, higher education, social networking, community building.