Effects of anonymity on online peer review in second-language writing. (December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: van den Bos, Anne Hester; Tan, Esther
• Is Part Of: Computers & education. Volume 142(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-12
• Subjects: Online peer review -- Anonymity -- (Non) directive peer feedback -- Higher- and lower-order feedback -- Second-language writing; Education -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Education -- Periodicals; Computers -- Periodicals; Computer-Assisted Instruction -- Periodicals; Éducation -- Informatique -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 370.285
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103638
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-1315

Abstract

Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of anonymity in online peer review on feedback types (directive, non-directive, higher-order concern, lower-order concern) and students' revisions (processed, partly processed and not processed) in second-language writing. Participants were 114 Dutch second-year university students. They were assigned to two experimental conditions: anonymous and non-anonymous. Results showed that students in the anonymous condition provided significantly more feedback on higher-order concerns and offered significantly different types of feedback than students in the non-anonymous condition. As for revision, overall findings showed that assessees in the anonymous condition did not process more feedback (i.e., the adoption rate) than their non-identified peers, however, assessees in the anonymous condition processed significantly more directive higher-order feedback and scored significantly higher final grades for the writing module than their non-anonymous peers. These results might imply that anonymity could enable learners to provide unreservedly more higher-order concerns feedback type. On the self-same note, the adoption and revision of these higher-order feedback items was instrumental in the improved writing performance of students in the anonymous condition. Highlights: Anonymity affected both the provision of feedback types and revision of text. Anonymous assessors provided significantly more directive higher-order concerns (D_HOC) than non-anonymous assessors. Anonymous assessors provided significantly lower directive lower-order concerns (D_LOC) than non-anonymous assessors. All students processed significantly more directive lower-order than non-directive higher-order concerns. Students in the anonymous condition scored higher final grades than students in the non-anonymous condition.