scholarly journals Predictive modeling to study lifestyle politics with Facebook likes

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stiene Praet ◽  
Peter Van Aelst ◽  
Patrick van Erkel ◽  
Stephan Van der Veeken ◽  
David Martens
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Political Preference ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Cultural Preferences ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Media Data

Abstract“Lifestyle politics” suggests that political and ideological opinions are strongly connected to our consumption choices, music and food taste, cultural preferences, and other aspects of our daily lives. With the growing political polarization this idea has become all the more relevant to a wide range of social scientists. Empirical research in this domain, however, is confronted with an impractical challenge; this type of detailed information on people’s lifestyle is very difficult to operationalize, and extremely time consuming and costly to query in a survey. A potential valuable alternative data source to capture these values and lifestyle choices is social media data. In this study, we explore the value of Facebook “like” data to complement traditional survey data to study lifestyle politics. We collect a unique dataset of Facebook likes and survey data of more than 6500 participants in Belgium, a fragmented multi-party system. Based on both types of data, we infer the political and ideological preference of our respondents. The results indicate that non-political Facebook likes are indicative of political preference and are useful to describe voters in terms of common interests, cultural preferences, and lifestyle features. This shows that social media data can be a valuable complement to traditional survey data to study lifestyle politics.

Destination image through social media analytics and survey method

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Lin ◽  
Yun Liang ◽  
Joanne X. Xue ◽  
Bing Pan ◽  
Ashley Schroeder
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Destination Image ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Tourism Destination ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Intercept Survey ◽  
Media Data

Purpose Recent tourism research has adopted social media analytics (SMA) to examine tourism destination image (TDI) and gain timely insights for marketing purposes. Comparing the methodologies of SMA and intercept surveys would provide a more in-depth understanding of both methodologies and a more holistic understanding of TDI than each method on their own. This study aims to investigate the unique merits and biases of SMA and a traditional visitor intercept survey. Design/methodology/approach This study collected and compared data for the same tourism destination from two sources: responses from a visitor intercept survey (n = 1,336) and Flickr social media photos and metadata (n = 11,775). Content analysis, machine learning and text analysis techniques were used to analyze and compare the destination image represented from both methods. Findings The results indicated that the survey data and social media data shared major similarities in the identified key image phrases. Social media data revealed more diverse and more specific aspects of the destination, whereas survey data provided more insights in specific local landmarks. Survey data also included additional subjective judgment and attachment towards the destination. Together, the data suggested that social media data should serve as an additional and complementary source of information to traditional survey data. Originality/value This study fills a research gap by comparing two methodologies in obtaining TDI: SMA and a traditional visitor intercept survey. Furthermore, within SMA, photo and metadata are compared to offer additional awareness of social media data’s underlying complexity. The results showed the limitations of text-based image questions in surveys. The findings provide meaningful insights for tourism marketers by having a more holistic understanding of TDI through multiple data sources.

Who’s Tweeting About the President? What Big Survey Data Can Tell Us About Digital Traces?

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 633-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh Pasek ◽  
Colleen A. McClain ◽  
Frank Newport ◽  
Stephanie Marken
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Presidential Approval ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Complex Picture ◽  
Large Scale Survey ◽  
Media Data

Researchers hoping to make inferences about social phenomena using social media data need to answer two critical questions: What is it that a given social media metric tells us? And who does it tell us about? Drawing from prior work on these questions, we examine whether Twitter sentiment about Barack Obama tells us about Americans’ attitudes toward the president, the attitudes of particular subsets of individuals, or something else entirely. Specifically, using large-scale survey data, this study assesses how patterns of approval among population subgroups compare to tweets about the president. The findings paint a complex picture of the utility of digital traces. Although attention to subgroups improves the extent to which survey and Twitter data can yield similar conclusions, the results also indicate that sentiment surrounding tweets about the president is no proxy for presidential approval. Instead, after adjusting for demographics, these two metrics tell similar macroscale, long-term stories about presidential approval but very different stories at a more granular level and over shorter time periods.

scholarly journals Linking Twitter and survey data: asymmetry in quantity and its impact

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarek Al Baghal ◽  
Alexander Wenz ◽  
Luke Sloan ◽  
Curtis Jessop
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Linked Data ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Twitter Data ◽  
Unique Source ◽  
Methodological Aspects ◽  
Media Data

AbstractLinked social media and survey data have the potential to be a unique source of information for social research. While the potential usefulness of this methodology is widely acknowledged, very few studies have explored methodological aspects of such linkage. Respondents produce planned amounts of survey data, but highly variant amounts of social media data. This study explores this asymmetry by examining the amount of social media data available to link to surveys. The extent of variation in the amount of data collected from social media could affect the ability to derive meaningful linked indicators and could introduce possible biases. Linked Twitter data from respondents to two longitudinal surveys representative of Great Britain, the Innovation Panel and the NatCen Panel, show that there is indeed substantial variation in the number of tweets posted and the number of followers and friends respondents have. Multivariate analyses of both data sources show that only a few respondent characteristics have a statistically significant effect on the number of tweets posted, with the number of followers being the strongest predictor of posting in both panels, women posting less than men, and some evidence that people with higher education post less, but only in the Innovation Panel. We use sentiment analyses of tweets to provide an example of how the amount of Twitter data collected can impact outcomes using these linked data sources. Results show that more negatively coded tweets are related to general happiness, but not the number of positive tweets. Taken together, the findings suggest that the amount of data collected from social media which can be linked to surveys is an important factor to consider and indicate the potential for such linked data sources in social research.

Can Social Media data augment travel demand survey data?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanouil Chaniotakis ◽  
Constantinos Antoniou ◽  
Josep Maria Salanova Grau ◽  
Loukas Dimitriou
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Travel Demand ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Media Data

scholarly journals Spatial Reliability Assessment of Social Media Mining Techniques with Regard to Disaster Domain-Based Filtering

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayse Giz Gulnerman ◽  
Himmet Karaman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Similarity Index ◽  
Spatial Accuracy ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Investigation Methods ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Similarity Indices ◽  
Media Data ◽  
Filtering Techniques

The data generated by social media such as Twitter are classified as big data and the usability of those data can provide a wide range of resources to various study areas including disaster management, tourism, political science, and health. However, apart from the acquisition of the data, the reliability and accuracy when it comes to using it concern scientists in terms of whether or not the use of social media data (SMD) can lead to incorrect and unreliable inferences. There have been many studies on the analyses of SMD in order to investigate their reliability, accuracy, or credibility, but that have not dealt with the filtering techniques applied to with the data before creating the results or after their acquisition. This study provides a methodology for detecting the accuracy and reliability of the filtering techniques for SMD and then a spatial similarity index that analyzes spatial intersections, proximity, and size, and compares them. Finally, we offer a comparison that shows the best combination of filtering techniques and similarity indices to create event maps of SMD by using the Getis-Ord Gi* technique. The steps of this study can be summarized as follows: an investigation of domain-based text filtering techniques for dealing with sentiment lexicons, machine learning-based sentiment analyses on reliability, and developing intermediate codes specific to domain-based studies; then, by using various similarity indices, the determination of the spatial reliability and accuracy of maps of the filtered social media data. The study offers the best combination of filtering, mapping, and spatial accuracy investigation methods for social media data, especially in the case of emergencies, where urgent spatial information is required. As a result, a new similarity index based on the spatial intersection, spatial size, and proximity relationships is introduced to determine the spatial accuracy of the fine-filtered SMD. The motivation for this research is to develop the ability to create an incidence map shortly after a disaster event such as a bombing. However, the proposed methodology can also be used for various domains such as concerts, elections, natural disasters, marketing, etc.

scholarly journals Comparing Social Media Data and Survey Data in Assessing the Attractiveness of Beijing Olympic Forest Park

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifang Wang ◽  
Yue Jin ◽  
Yu Liu ◽  
Dong Li ◽  
Bo Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Forest Park ◽  
Media Data

scholarly journals Electronic cigarette usage patterns: a case study combining survey and social media data

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongcheng Zhan ◽  
Jean-François Etter ◽  
Scott Leischow ◽  
Daniel Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Cigarette Use ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Media Data

Abstract Objective To identify who were social media active e-cigarette users, to compare the use patterns from both survey and social media data for data triangulation, and to jointly use both datasets to conduct a comprehensive analysis on e-cigarette future use intentions. Materials and Methods We jointly used an e-cigarette use online survey (n = 5132) and a social media dataset. We conducted analysis from 3 different perspectives. We analyzed online forum participation patterns using survey data. We compared e-cigarette use patterns, including brand and flavor types, ratings, and purchase approaches, between the 2 datasets. We used logistic regression to study intentions to use e-cigarettes using both datasets. Results Male and younger e-cigarette users were the most likely to participate in e-cigarette-related discussion forums. Forum active survey participants were hardcore vapers. The e-cigarette use patterns were similar in the online survey data and the social media data. Intention to use e-cigarettes was positively related to e-liquid ratings and flavor ratings. Social media provided a valuable source of information on users’ ratings of e-cigarette refill liquids. Discussion For hardcore vapers, social media data were consistent with online survey data, which suggests that social media may be useful to study e-cigarette use behaviors and can serve as a useful complement to online survey research. We proposed an innovative framework for social media data triangulation in public health studies. Conclusion We illustrated how social media data, combined with online survey data, can serve as a new and rich information source for public health research.

scholarly journals Informed consent for linking survey and social media data - Differences between platforms and data types

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Breuer ◽  
Tarek Al Baghal ◽  
Luke Sloan ◽  
Libby Bishop ◽  
Dimitra Kondyli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Media Data ◽  
Collection Methods

Linking social media data with survey data is a way to combine the unique strengths and address some of the respective limitations of these two data types. As such linked data can be quite disclosive and potentially sensitive, it is important that researchers obtain informed consent from the individuals whose data are being linked. When formulating appropriate informed consent, there are several things that researchers need to take into account. Besides legal and ethical questions, key aspects to consider are the differences between platforms and data types. Depending on what type of social media data is collected, how the data are collected, and from which platform(s), different points need to be addressed in the informed consent. In this paper, we present three case studies in which survey data were linked with data from 1) Twitter, 2) Facebook, and 3) LinkedIn and discuss how the specific features of the platforms and data collection methods were covered in the informed consent. We compare the key attributes of these platforms that are relevant for the formulation of informed consent and also discuss scenarios of social media data collection and linking in which obtaining informed consent is not necessary. By presenting the specific case studies as well as general considerations, this paper is meant to provide guidance on informed consent for linked survey and social media data for both researchers and archivists working with this type of data.

Do social media data indicate visits to tourist attractions? A case study of Shanghai, China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huilin Liang ◽  
Qingping Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Use Studies ◽  
Media Data

PurposeCan Chinese social media data (SMD) be used as an alternative to traditional surveys used to understand tourists' visitation of attractions in Chinese cities? The purpose of this paper is to explore this question.Design/methodology/approachPopular tourism SMD sources in China, such as Ctrip, Weibo and Dazhong Dianping (DZDP), were used as data source, and the relationships between these sources and traditional data sources were studied with statistical methods. Data from Shanghai were used in this study since it is rich in tourism resources and developed in information.FindingsA systematic research method was followed and led to the following conclusions: There were positive correlations for attraction visitation between Chinese SMD and traditional survey data; Chinese SMD source could temporally indicate visits to Shanghai tourist attractions; Ctrip SMD generally performed less well than Weibo or DZDP, and different SMD performed differently depending on the specific attractions and time units in the visitation calculation process; and factors including visitation, distance from the city center and the grade of attractions might affect the prediction performance based on data from the SMD. The findings suggest that Chinese SMD could be used as a cost-efficient and reliable proxy for traditional survey data to predict Chinese attraction visitation.Originality/valueThis study applies and improves the methods of SMD reliability in attraction use studies, supplies the gap for premise, basis and foundation for the large amounts of tourism researches using SMD in China and could promote and inspire more efficient and advanced measures in tourism management and urban development.

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