Process research screen capture

Screen capture, or “screencasting” (Seror, 2013, p. 4), refers to a method of data collec-tion in applied linguistics research. The researcher uses a stand-alone camera or digital software to make video recordings of users’ on-screen activity. Screen capture results in a recording consisting of a series of frames that document moment-by-moment on-screen phenomena (Geisler & Slattery, 2007; Park & Kinginger, 2010) used to investigate real-time computer-based processes (Smith & Gorsuch, 2004; Beißwenger, 2008; Park & Kinginger, 2010). Screen capture is an important instrument to conduct qualitative research in computer-assisted or -mediated language learning (Fischer, 2007; Macgilchrist & Van Hout, 2011) and other online communication investigated by applied linguists. Screen capture contrasts with a more restricted method of capturing logs of predefined interactions, the predominant source of process data used in the past to track participants’ computer-based activity (Smith & Gorsuch, 2004; O’Rourke, 2008). Screen capture constitutes an evolution in process-oriented research methods as it provides access to learning events that are otherwise invisible in the final product represented in scripted logs, and may have led to wrongful or incomplete interpretations of data (Smith & Gorsuch, 2004). A significant portion of language learning and communication involves the use of a computer; it is therefore important for applied linguistics researchers to have methods for gathering qualitative data to investigate the computer-mediated nature of the language-learning process and the development of digital literacy (Guichon, 2011; Mroz, 2012; Seror, 2013).