Synthesizing Presence: A Multidisciplinary Review of the Literature

Abstract

This multidisciplinary literature review analyzed one hundred and eight peer-reviewed journal articles focusing on presence from four academic disciplines:  Mass Communication, Human-Computer Interaction, Education, and Psychology.  It was conducted because there was a need for a comprehensive, integrated understanding of presence.  Results strongly indicate that presence includes both objective and subjective criteria, and thus should be measured in both ways.  Results also showed that the different academic disciplines approach the concept in similar, yet distinct ways.  These similarities and differences also gave the researchers the necessary content to create a presence ontology.  Future researchers are encouraged to use these results and ontology as a starting point for formulating research questions that advance an understanding of presence.