While computer-mediated communications (CMC) is increasingly common in online teaching, research intended to show how CMC works, and what makes it effective, has been plagued by some persistent problems. These include getting the proposed research through institutional ethics review in the first place; achieving acceptable levels of validity and reliability; and using CMC effectively to help create and sustain an online learning community.

This presentation will discuss the above issues, along with thoughts on how they might be addressed. The underlying theme is that “little victories” observed in relation to these issues suggest they may not be insoluble, and that online interaction research, focusing on CMC, should continue.