scholarly journals Field Experiments on Social Media

2021 ◽  
pp. 096372142110547
Author(s):  
Mohsen Mosleh ◽  
Gordon Pennycook ◽  
David G. Rand
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Online Behavior ◽  
Practical Advice ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
The Impact

Online behavioral data, such as digital traces from social media, have the potential to allow researchers an unprecedented new window into human behavior in ecologically valid everyday contexts. However, research using such data is often purely observational, which limits its usefulness for identifying causal relationships. Here we review recent innovations in experimental approaches to studying online behavior, with a particular focus on research related to misinformation and political psychology. In hybrid lab-field studies, exposure to social-media content can be randomized, and the impact on attitudes and beliefs can be measured using surveys, or exposure to treatments can be randomized within survey experiments, and their impact on subsequent online behavior can be observed. In field experiments conducted on social media, randomized treatments can be administered directly to users in the online environment (e.g., via social-tie invitations, private messages, or public posts) without revealing that they are part of an experiment, and the effects on subsequent online behavior can then be observed. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach are discussed, along with practical advice and central ethical constraints on such studies.

scholarly journals Field experiments on social media

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Mosleh ◽  
Gordon Pennycook ◽  
David Gertler Rand
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Online Behavior ◽  
Practical Advice ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
The Impact

Online behavioral data, such as digital traces from social media, have the potential to allow researchers an unprecedented new window into human behavior in ecologically valid everyday contexts. However, research using such data is often purely observational, limiting its ability to identify causal relationships. Here we review recent innovations in experimental approaches to studying online behavior, with a particular focus on research related to misinformation and political psychology. In hybrid lab-field studies, exposure to social media content can be randomized, and the impact on attitudes and beliefs measured using surveys; or exposure to treatments can be randomized within survey experiments, and their impact observed on subsequent online behavior. In field experiments conducted on social media, randomized treatments can be administered directly to users in the online environment - e.g. via social tie invitations, private messages, or public posts - without revealing that they are part of an experiment, and the impacts on subsequent online behavior observed. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach are discussed, along with practical advice and central ethical constraints on such studies.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Impact of Two Generalist Predators on the Leafhopper Erasmoneura vulnerata Population Density

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 321
Author(s):  
Stefan Cristian Prazaru ◽  
Giulia Zanettin ◽  
Alberto Pozzebon ◽  
Paola Tirello ◽  
Francesco Toffoletto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Generalist Predators ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Potted Plants ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Orius Majusculus ◽  
Limited Effectiveness ◽  
Pest Outbreaks ◽  
The Impact

Outbreaks of the Nearctic leafhopper Erasmoneura vulnerata represent a threat to vinegrowers in Southern Europe, in particular in North-eastern Italy. The pest outbreaks are frequent in organic vineyards because insecticides labeled for organic viticulture show limited effectiveness towards leafhoppers. On the other hand, the naturally occurring predators and parasitoids of E. vulnerata in vineyards are often not able to keep leafhopper densities at acceptable levels for vine-growers. In this study, we evaluated the potential of two generalist, commercially available predators, Chrysoperla carnea and Orius majusculus, in suppressing E. vulnerata. Laboratory and semi-field experiments were carried out to evaluate both species’ predation capacity on E. vulnerata nymphs. The experiments were conducted on grapevine leaves inside Petri dishes (laboratory) and on potted and caged grapevines (semi-field); in both experiments, the leaves or potted plants were infested with E. vulnerata nymphs prior to predator releases. Both predator species exhibited a remarkable voracity and significantly reduced leafhopper densities in laboratory and semi-field experiments. Therefore, field studies were carried out over two growing seasons in two vineyards. We released 4 O. majusculus adults and 30 C. carnea larvae per m2 of canopy. Predator releases in vineyards reduced leafhopper densities by about 30% compared to the control plots. Results obtained in this study showed that the two predators have a potential to suppress the pest density, but more research is required to define appropriate predator–prey release ratios and release timing. Studies on intraguild interactions and competition with naturally occurring predators are also suggested.

scholarly journals The impact of credibility of influencers recommendations on social media on consumers behavior towards brands

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 181-196
Author(s):  
Piotr Kwiatek ◽  
Radoslav Baltezarević ◽  
Stavros Papakonstantinidis
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Consumer Attitudes ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Purchasing Decisions ◽  
The Impact

Companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance and opportunities provided by social media in order to communicate faster and more efficiently with their consumers. In order to convey the message about the value of their brands to their target market, organizations hire influential people who are considered to be the creators of public opinion in a virtual environment. Nowadays, social media are crowded with micro and macro influencers, or at least those who present themselves as such. Their main job is to represent and recommend brands to other users (their followers) and thus influence consumer attitudes about brands and possibly strengthen their purchasing decisions. Very often, influencers on social media are hired by companies to promote their brands for a fee. In order to have more control over their communication activities, companies provide them, in advance, with the content they want to be conveyed to consumers, but also the time frame when the message should be launched. In this way, organizations try to reduce the risk of turning electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) communication into a negative one. In order for consumers to trust the recommendations of influencers on social media, these people need to have significant expertise in a certain area, charisma and respect from other users, so that their credibility affects the value of content and recommendations they place in the online environment. The aim of this paper is to present the attitudes of respondents who use social media websites about the impact of the credibility of influencers' recommendations on social media, and their opinion on whether and in what way their credibility influences consumer attitudes towards brands.

Addressing the effects of bottom trawling on benthic processes using experimental and field studies in the Baltic Sea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Morys ◽  
Martin Jakobsson ◽  
Mattias Sköld ◽  
Pere Masqué ◽  
Volker Brüchert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycling ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Bottom Trawling ◽  
Flux Measurements ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Benthic Ecosystems ◽  
The Impact

<p>Bottom trawling is one of the most important anthropogenic disturbances affecting marine ecosystems and there has been increased attention to its impacts on seabed habitats as well as the structure and functioning of benthic ecosystems. The impact of bottom trawling is well-known with regard to benthic organisms. However, we still have a poor understanding of its effects on bentho-pelagic coupling and biogeochemical cycling in the sediment. In the Baltic Sea, the study area of the present investigation, there is a particular lack of data.<br>Here, we present new results from field experiments to quantify changes in sediment properties, macrofauna and biogeochemical cycling after the passage of a benthic dredge. To put the results in a broader context, a field survey was conducted in six areas of different commercial trawling intensities in the Bornholm Basin. Acoustic geophysical mapping, isotope profiling, functional categorization of macrofauna and sediment-water nutrient and oxygen flux measurements were used to evaluate the physical disturbance of the seabed. Preliminary results suggest a range of ecological, biogeochemical and physical impacts of trawling in the Baltic Sea, with implications for benthic ecosystem functioning.</p>

scholarly journals Online Impact and Presence of a Specialized Social Media Team for the Journal of Neurosurgery: Descriptive Analysis (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R Linzey ◽  
Faith Robertson ◽  
Ali S Haider ◽  
Christopher Salvatore Graffeo ◽  
Justin Z Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Scholarly Publications ◽  
Publishing Group ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Journal Impact

BACKGROUND Social media use continues to gain momentum in academic neurosurgery. To increase journal impact and broaden engagement, many scholarly publications have turned to social media to disseminate research. The Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group (JNSPG) established a dedicated, specialized social media team (SMT) in November 2016 to provide targeted improvement in digital outreach. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to examine the impact of the JNSPG SMT as measured by increased engagement. METHODS We analyzed various metrics, including impressions, engagements, retweets, likes, profile clicks, and URL clicks, from consecutive social media posts from the JNSPG’s Twitter and Facebook platforms between February 1, 2015 and February 28, 2019. Standard descriptive statistics were utilized. RESULTS Between February 2015 and October 2016, when a specialized SMT was created, 170 tweets (8.1 tweets/month) were posted compared to 3220 tweets (115.0 tweets/month) between November 2016 and February 2019. All metrics significantly increased, including the impressions per tweet (mean 1646.3, SD 934.9 vs mean 4605.6, SD 65,546.5; <i>P</i>=.01), engagements per tweet (mean 35.2, SD 40.6 vs mean 198.2, SD 1037.2; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), retweets (mean 2.5, SD 2.8 vs mean 10.5, SD 15.3; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), likes (mean 2.5, SD 4.0 vs mean 18.0, SD 37.9; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), profile clicks (mean 1.5, SD 2.0 vs mean 5.2, SD 43.3; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), and URL clicks (mean 13.1, SD 14.9 vs mean 38.3, SD 67.9; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). Tweets that were posted on the weekend compared to weekdays had significantly more retweets (mean 9.2, SD 9.8 vs mean 13.4, SD 25.6; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), likes (mean 15.3, SD 17.9 vs mean 23.7, SD 70.4; <i>P</i>=.001), and URL clicks (mean 33.4, SD 40.5 vs mean 49.5, SD 117.3; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). Between November 2015 and October 2016, 49 Facebook posts (2.3 posts/month) were sent compared to 2282 posts (81.5 posts/month) sent between November 2016 and February 2019. All Facebook metrics significantly increased, including impressions (mean 5475.9, SD 5483.0 vs mean 8506.1, SD 13,113.9; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), engagements (mean 119.3, SD 194.8 vs mean 283.8, SD 733.8; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), and reach (mean 2266.6, SD 2388.3 vs mean 5344.1, SD 8399.2; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). Weekend Facebook posts had significantly more impressions per post (mean 7967.9, SD 9901.0 vs mean 9737.8, SD 19,013.4; <i>P</i>=.03) and a higher total reach (mean 4975.8, SD 6309.8 vs mean 6108.2, SD 12,219.7; <i>P</i>=.03) than weekday posts. CONCLUSIONS Social media has been established as a crucial tool for the propagation of neurosurgical research and education. Implementation of the JNSPG specialized SMT had a demonstrable impact on increasing the online visibility of social media content.

scholarly journals Impact of Risk Perception on Trust in Government and Self-Efficiency During COVID-19 pandemic: Does Social Media Content Help Users Adopt Preventative Measures?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Salah Hassan ◽  
Hussam Al Halbusi ◽  
Ali Najem ◽  
Asbah Razali ◽  
Kent A. Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Preventative Measures ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The public’s actions will likely have a significant effect on the course of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Human behavior is conditioned and shaped by information and perceptions of people. This study investigated the impact of risk perception on trust in government and self-efficacy. It examined whether the use of social media helps people adopt preventative actions during the pandemic. To test this hypothesis, data were gathered from 512 individuals (students and academicians) who were based in Malaysia during COVID-19. Our results suggested that risk perception had a significant effect on trust in government and self-efficacy. Moreover, these correlations were stronger when social media was used as a source for gathering information on COVID-19, and in some cases it even helped the user avoid being exposed to the virus. This study assessed the relationship between risk perception and the awareness gained from using social media during the pandemic and also highlighted how social media usage influences trust in government and self-efficacy.

Conversation, storytelling, or consumer interaction and participation? The impact of brand-owned social media content marketing on consumers’ brand perceptions and attitudes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ai-Zhong He ◽  
Yi Cai ◽  
Ling Cai ◽  
Yu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Brand Personality ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Brand Attitudes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Narrow Scope ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Content Marketing

PurposeThis paper studies the relationships among consumers’ perceptions of brand personality, consumers’ brand attitudes and brand-owned social media content marketing (SMCM). The moderating effect of the brand content relevancy was also assessed.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model was established and examined using two experiments with a total of 363 participants. Hierarchical regression analysis and an analysis of variance were performed to test seven research hypotheses.FindingsResults show that the three forms of brand-owned SMCM, namely: conversation, storytelling and customer interaction and participation, are positively correlated with consumers’ brand personality perceptions and brand attitudes. Also, consumers’ perceptions of brand personality can partially mediate the relationship between brand-owned content marketing and consumers’ brand attitudes. Furthermore, the brand content relevancy does not show a moderating effect on the relationship between content marketing and consumers’ brand personality perceptions or brand attitudes.Originality/valueFirst, a framework was established to delineate those paths by which owned social media content marketing (OSMCM) influences consumers’ attitudes towards a brand. Second, the study demonstrates the importance of conversation as a powerful method of OSMCM. Third, with respect to content in marketing strategies, firms do not need to confine themselves to a narrow scope of content or information that is closely related to the brands alone.

scholarly journals It’s the Content That Counts: Longitudinal Associations between Social Media Use, Parental Monitoring and Alcohol Use in an Australian Sample of Adolescents Aged 13 to 16 Years

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7599
Author(s):  
Anna Smout ◽  
Cath Chapman ◽  
Marius Mather ◽  
Tim Slade ◽  
Maree Teesson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Parental Monitoring ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Media Content ◽  
School Students ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Impact

(1) Background: More time spent on social media has been linked to increased alcohol use, with exposure to peer alcohol-related content on social media (content exposure) named as a critical factor in this relationship. Little is currently known about whether early content exposure may have lasting effects across adolescent development, or about the capacity of parental monitoring of social media use to interrupt these links. (2) Methods: These gaps were addressed in both cross-sectional and longitudinal contexts among a longitudinal sample of Australian secondary school students (n = 432) across the ages of 13–16. (3) Results: Evidence was found for links between social media use and alcohol use frequency in early development. Social media time at age 13 was significantly associated with concurrent alcohol use frequency. At age 13, alcohol use frequency was significantly higher among those who reported content exposure compared to those who reported no exposure. Longitudinally, the frequency of alcohol use over time increased at a faster rate among participants who reported content exposure at age 13. In terms of parental monitoring, no longitudinal effects were observed. However, parental monitoring at age 13 did significantly reduce the concurrent relationship between alcohol use frequency and content exposure. (4) Conclusion: The impact of social media content exposure on alcohol use in adolescence may be more important than the time spent on social media, and any protective effect of parental monitoring on content exposure may be limited to the time it is being concurrently enacted.

Purchase decision of generation Y in an online environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shantanu Prasad ◽  
Arushi Garg ◽  
Saroj Prasad
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Generation Y ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Purchase Decision ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Brand Reputation ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the concept of conviction in online environment. It examines the vital role of conviction and firm’s brand reputation while understanding the impact of social media usage and electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) on purchase decisions of Generation Y. Design/methodology/approach Literature review resulted in six constructs – social media usage, EWOM, conviction, firm’s brand reputation and purchase intention and customer loyalty. The authors adopted the concept of conviction from another field of enquiry (organizational learning), conducted a qualitative study and an e-mail survey with post-graduate management students (Generation Y) of a university to examine the impact of social media and EWOM on customer purchase decision. Data were collected and analyzed with the help of structural equation modeling. Findings Results indicated that impact of social media usage and EWOM on purchase decision is mediated by conviction. Firm’s reputation as brand (perceived by the customer) moderates the relationship between EWOM and purchase intention in a manner that this relationship is significantly stronger if there is more positive brand reputation. Originality/value This study validates the concept of conviction in online environment. The purchase decision is defined as purchase intention and loyalty of the customer.

The Digital Hood of Urban Violence: Exploring Functionalities of Social Media and Music Among Gangs

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina Pawelz ◽  
Paul Elvers
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Music Videos ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Street Gangs ◽  
Urban Violence ◽  
Online Behavior ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Motivational Support ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Gang Life

Social media and music are fundamental components of everyday life for today’s youth. The uses and functions of social media and music provide valuable insights for a better understanding of marginalized groups, subcultures, and gangs. Data are based on in-depth, semistructured interviews with gang members and gang affiliates in Trinidad and Tobago and combined with an analysis of social media content. The findings reveal that street gangs use music and social media to glorify gang life, to display power and send threats, to generate motivational support for criminal activities, and to bond socially and mourn collectively. In our analysis, social media, music, and music videos appear to be intimately interconnected phenomena; we thus call for a broader focus on gangs’ online behavior.

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