OER Knowledge CloudJournal ArticleArbaugh, J. B.The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of a study that examines whether the Community of Inquiry (CoI) dimensions of social, teaching, and cognitive presence distinctively exist in e-learning environments. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. First, the author will briefly review recent studies on the dimensions of this framework: social, cognitive, and teaching presence. Second, the author discusses the development of the sample of MBA students in online courses over a two-year period at a Midwestern U.S. university and the items used to measure the CoI dimensions. Next, the author will describe the results of an exploratory factor analysis, including an interpretation of the emerging factors. Finally, the author will discuss how these findings relate to conclusions presented in Garrison's review of recent research related to the CoI and present some possible directions for future research. (Contains 2 tables.)2007EnglishJournal of Asynchronous Learning Networks11173-85United Stateshttps://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ842689yesfactor analysisbusiness administration educationgraduate studentscommunityinquiryinterpersonal relationshipteacher rolediscourse analysisgroup dynamicssocial environmentcognitive processesonline coursescomputer mediated communicationeducational technologyinternetelectronic learninghttps://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ842689United States, North America