Harris and Martin, both affiliated with Eastern Oregon University, (EOU) wrote an article based on the findings of the qualitative research they conducted to explore factors that motivated currently enrolled students at Eastern Oregon University to "choose or not to choose" in the online program at EOU. The researchers gave sixteen percent of the 4000 students enrolled at EOU a (16 question) survey to identify their interactions and services they would like to see increase at EOU. These surveys were also used to support the EOU mission and strategic planning.

The surveys concluded that the major motivation factor to why students choose online courses at EOU is because of "flexibility and convenience, and the ability to fit courses into a current work schedule."

This article found in Educational Technology & Society describes a study conducted by Han and Johnson (associated with Southern Illinois University School of Medicine), who used canonical correlation analysis to determine that "statistically significant relationships were found between students' emotional intelligence, social bond, and interactions occurred naturally" in the online programs. The study proved that students that had a higher rate of bonding with others due to the fact that they had a higher ability to perceive emotions and this was due to their emotional attachment to peers. This study also found "that there is a negative relationship between students' ability to perceive emotions by facial expressions and their amount of synchronous online interactions." Finally this study determined that students who had a high degree of bonding had more of a management style of interaction when meeting synchronously with peers. This study proves valuable for institutions designing online courses by helping them determine the amount of synchronous meeting times and the importance of displaying the faces of the students involved.

The article Online social networking: a synergy for learning, found in the International online journal of educational sciences, describes a research study conducted by Gazi, Aksal and Ozhan are associated with Near East University in Turkey and all hold doctorate degrees. This researched study was conducted with a case study approach to research the impact of online communication on various social networking tools. 37 participants enrolled in a masters degree program that were actively engaged in social networking were analyzed through focus groups and self-assessments. The data was through thematic analysis using themes of social networking and online communication datum was analyzed.

From this research, it seems clear that social networking tools such as facebook and Skype were proven to create environments to enhance socialization, communication, collaboration, motivation, and professional growth for these students, and therefore served as a tool to enhance learning in higher education online institutions.

Gazi, Aksal and Ozhan stated that this study "may be further extended in another study" also, "a mixed methods approach can be used thereby quantitative techniques and analysis might have benefited to enrich credible research outcomes."