User:Htw3/ResourcesGreen
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[edit] Note
Your group can organize this space however you want. Following is one proposal, feel free to use it if it seems helpful.
Wikipedia work from email reminder:
- Create a login ID for yourself
- Edit your user page
- Edit my userpage by adding a link to yours
- Talk with your groupmates about your topic
- Make progress on topic choosing and background research for your
topic. Make sure you touch base with me on email or through the wiki page about topic and next steps.
Further Wikipedia work:
- Get topic approved by Ted
- Show Ted a full list of directly related Wikipages
- Discuss possible resources/references for your topic
- Find 2-4 key references that will provide overviews of your topic (or parts of your topic)
- Get the resources
- Read them
- Make your outline
- Start writing sections
[edit] Introduction
The explosion in popularity of computer mediated social spaces is driving a convergence among researchers in computer science, information science, and the social sciences. This broadly interdisciplinary study of dynamics and patterns in computer mediated social spaces is termed "Computational Social Science" to reflect that both the subject of study is computationally based, and that the methods of study require computational methods well beyond what is typically employed in social sciences(cite chapter). Computational social science draws data from a wide range of sources with varying levels of complexity. CSS researchers then store and manage data in the form of both large text files and with SQL databases. The analysis process combines multifaceted techniques of visualization, descriptive statistics, network and regression analysis.
[edit] Historical development, overview of topic
[edit] Early research
Researchers started studying interaction online a while back-- but most of that work was small scale and qualitative. An important early book was Communities in Cyberspace, which started to gather information over the information superhighway in 1993. This changed the concept of computers into tools used to enable talking to directly to others using computers.
Early large scale efforts include Netscan project. The Netscan project helps online participants form cooperative relationships by offering a better sense of the other players involved.
[edit] Development of research communities
Interdisciplinary tendencies in conferences-- thus computer science and data mining conferences began to grow sections with increasingly social topics, and computer mediated interaction sections emerged in social science disciplines like sociology (CITASA). Communication and Information Technologies of the American Sociological Association (CITASA) focuses on the early years of computer research. In that early period in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the emphasis was on helping sociologists adjust to the new potential of microcomputers for research and teaching. A tension emerged because new users of computing held different priorities than did those who were developers, specialists, or cyberspace researchers.
[edit] Data Sources for Computational Social Science
[edit] Online Community Types and Ranges
The possible online sources available for study can be seperated into four categories: threaded discussion, distributed collaborative system, social networking and virtual worlds. Each of these categories presents different opportunities for interaction among its users.These range in simplest form of comments to the most detailed form of live chat and simultaneous interaction. Within each of these four categories there are many examples that exist. Below you will find examples:
[edit] Threaded Discussion
In this most simple form of online interaction among its users, there is the opportunity for comments left on discussion boards as well as on posted pictures.Users also have the chance to message fellow users. Some examples of threaded discussion are Usenet and Slashdot. Another form of of a threaded discussion that scientist can use in online research are e-mail listservs. (Welser, Lento, Smith, Gleave, Himelboim, 2/25/2008)
[edit] Distributed Collaborative System
This type of study option is different from threaded discussion in that there are opportunities for co-participation among the users. Users may also contribute to this sort of online structure. There is administrative status given to users as well as awards and contribution records for other participating. User identity is represented with a login name and signature as well as a personal user page. An example of distributed collaborative system is Wikipedia. (Welser, Lento, Smith, Gleave, Himelboim, 2/25/2008)
[edit] Social Networking
The social networking category differs from the previous two in that there is a more detailed opportunity for interaction among its users. Participants can invite others to join groups, they can give gifts and they can create blogs for others to read. They user's connection to others is recorded and displayed. All recent activity is logged as well as their chosen social network. Users may comment on others' pages as well as their Web site activity log displayed on their user page. Examples include Facebook, Wallop and MySpace. (Welser, Lento, Smith, Gleave, Himelboim, 2/25/2008)
[edit] Virtual World
Virtual worlds are by far the most detailed form of communication in the online world. An example of this is Halo 3. In this users communicate by stating their missions. There is co-participation among many players. There is the option for teaming with friends who share the same mission as the user. There is live communication through microphone sent directly from user to user. It includes a web cam and live actions and voice.(Welser, Lento, Smith, Gleave, Himelboim, 2/25/2008)
[edit] Complexity Issues
There are several problems that arise when beginning a study regarding the use of more than one of these online sources. A large problem is the difference in data collected from each site. With the social networks and the virtual worlds there is a complex set of data compared to the comments and such found in the threaded discussion sector. It is important that the researcher finds a way to categorize the data so that it can be universal among all four types. There is also the question regarding the possibility of using something found in a simpler threaded discussion forum and comparing it realistically to data found in the more complex networks.
[edit] Further sources of data for CSS
[edit] Web experiments
Web experiments may be conducted by accessing information online from many more subjects than would be possible in more traditional forms of experimentation. Often times information is pulled form social networking sites such as the ones mentioned below. With them researchers may study the interaction of online members as well as the types of interacting that they are doing.
[edit] Sensor studies
This is the process of deploying sensor devices to several members of populations that exist in the real world. An example of this would be conference attendees who are "tagged" with electronic badges, which can then track their proximity and duration data. From this, a social network is created that can show how the participants interacted with one another. Current studies use handhelds and sensors, but it is predicted that mobile phones could become the leading tool given that features such as GPS, Bluetooth and thermometers become a regular feature on phones. (Welser, Smith, Fisher, Gleave, 2/24/2008)
[edit] Cell phone and telecom data
The use of phones and telecom data are becoming more prevalent in the use of social scientific research. Some researchers leading the way are Lee Humphreys and Nathan Eagle. Humphreys study on Dodgeball suggest that as cell phones gain many more features as norm, they will be used much more often in studies. These features may include things such as thermometers, internet access and bluetooth options.
[edit] Database Management
[edit] getting the data into the database
[edit] tools
"As a tool, researchers will often collect data from some source and organize it into a relational database to facilitate the process of reorganizing the data for social scientific analysis." (Welser, Smith, Fisher, Gleave, 2-25-08)
By collecting and inputing data the information can be linked to other data which is then called a relation.
To enter date you must have two components. First a programer that can create a program that allowes users to enter data into a database is needed. Secondly you must have users that actually enter data into the database otherwise there would be no data to collect.
There are three main steps to follow when collecting data or adding on or entering new data into that database. They include collecting, parsing, and storing. The first step collecting starts with the person deciding what kind of data they are needing to collect and then researching and finding the best source to collect it from. This step can be difficult are there are many options and places to collect data from, and narrowing down your sources can be overwhelming. One tool that helps with collecting data are wrapper, which are tools which allow you to parse the data into different database tables. Wrappers are used frequently with blogs, web boards, and sites with large amount of data such as Myspace or Facebook. Step two, parsing is another tool that enables one to collect data. Parsing manipulates data in a way that it can be used for research interest. The next step is storage there are two main ways in which to store the data you have collected. The first option is storing it in SQL which stands for Structured Query Language, this is the most common way to store data. The second option is storing the data as a series of text files.
[edit] organizing it
[edit] existing tables, creating new tables
Organizing the data in which one wants to use can be very challenging as there is such a large amount of data. One way in which data is organized in a databases is by using relational databases. These databases are organized by what the data you have collected and wh at the data has in common. For example if you are collecting data on a group of Myspace users a relational database might organize the information into group, such as login dates, information on the user, or comments they have made and who they are linked with.
SQL is a way in which data is collected into a database. However, social scientists find the technical aspects of SQL difficult to learn. Thus, organizing it in a way to attain effective research from it becomes difficult as well.
Recent data sets are trying to overcome the difficulties that SQL presents. Wikipedia is organized by language groups. Flickr is organized into images, groups, and other types of editing. Also, social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook allow some of the organization of data be put into the hands of its users.
Existing tabels are the information in which users first put into the database such as Facebook one might initially put in their name, address, age and any other information that person wants to initally share on the database. Later if a user wishes to go into the database and update their profile by adding new information or editing information that they have already put into the database this new information the user added and updated information is then creating a new table. This is true everytime a user adds or edits information they are then creating a new table.
[edit] Analysis
[edit] Description
Because of the complexity of the data, descriptive strategies make a good first step for analyzing computer data because of the large number of participants involved in the study. Descriptive Statistics show a table or graph with a good approximation for the size of the interactive community. These compare the statistics. Distributors can either be small, medium or large groups. This is the activity level amongst the participants in the research. Group Level Metrics display all alters within degree and all ties among those alters. Comparing these local network neighborhoods reveals an important structural difference between individuals.
[edit] Studies
Explanatory studies have looked at how social ties affect participation in community online. Using pre-existing data, researchers can follow patterns of online research and begin to explain patterns or trends within the research group.
Study in Bibliography "Wallop" This Study uses data from blogging system to study the likelihood of networking within an online community to find out how one group effects the other. Online communities can effect the participation and activity amongst its participants and this can help predict the outcomes of each individual.
John Kleinberg - Live Journal This study focuses on the likely hood of someones participation within a group online. If someone is friends with someone else before a group is started, it is more likely that they will join the same group as thier friend online. If they are not in contact with anyone in the group it is less likely that they will join, or be interested in it. This shows the growth of social networks in an online community.
http://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/kleinber/kdd06-comm.pdf
[edit] Graphing
Analysis is displayed on graphs showing interactions between people in the online community. These graphs show the links and participations between more frequent and less frequent participants. Participants with the most involvement end up near the middle with a lot of connections to other users, while the less involved participants fall near the end of the graph with few connections to other users.
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- Check JCMC (in bibliography)
[edit] Current research / new directions in research
This method is a new and innovative concept so the research is always improved and evolving. The following are two examples of some recent research.
A recent study published by Lee Humphreys in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication details his look at "dodgeball," which is a mobile network system. Through this system users can create social connections with their friends in public places with the use of their mobile phone. Humphreys study consisted of a year's worth of qualitative with which he then highlights the social and behavioral norms of dodgeball use. He also compares use of dodgeball to social network sites. He found through his studies that dodgeball can influence the way its users experience public space and the social realtions that exist within the space. He also found that it could facilitate a creation of a third space/ Finally, using dodgeball, Humphreys found, could lead to social molecularization, which means that its members could expeience and navigate a city together as a group. (Humphreys, 2/25/2008)
Another study done by Shelly Rodgers and Qimei Chen worked to examine the psychosocial benefits of breast cancer patients using an online community group. They did a content analysis of more than 33,000 postings on an online breast cancer message board. They then anaylyzed the "life stories" of 100 of the women who posted on the board. Some of the psychosocial benefits the researchers found were receiving and giving information as well as social support, optimism toward breast cancer, increased skill or ability to cope with the disease, improved mood, lower psychological stress, and development of strategies to manage stress. In time, they found a positive shift in the women's attitudes toward breast cancer and online community. There was a positive correlation present between amount of participation and psychosocial well-being. (Rodgers, Chen, 2/25/2008)
[edit] Relevant links
[edit] General
Internet research
Web-based experiments
Statistical survey
Database
Computer Network
Social network service
[edit] Sources
Facebook
MySpace
Blog
Instant messaging
Virtual world
[edit] Database Management
[edit] References
Anderson, Ronald E. (2006). "Citasa". Social Science Computer Review 124 (2): 150-157.
Humphreys, Lee. "Mobile social networks and social practice: A case study of Dodgeball". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13 (1).
Lento, Thomas; Howard T. Welser, Lei Gu, Marc Smith (2006). "The Ties that Blog: Examining the Relationship between Social Ties and Continued Participation in the WallopWeblogging System". WWW Third Annual Workshop on Webloggin Ecosystem.
Rodgers, S; Chen, Q (2005). "Internet community group participation: Psychosocial benefits for women with breast cancer". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 10 (4).
Smith, Marc; Welser, Howard T.; Danyel Fisher [Forthcoming 2008]. "Distilling Digital Traces: Computational Social Science Approaches to Studying the Internet", Handbook of Online Research Methods. Sage Publications.
Smith, Marc; Kollock, Peter [1999]. "1 Communities in Cyberspace", Communities in Cyberspace. Routledge Publications.
Welser; Lento; Smith; Gleave; Himelboim. "A picture is worth a thousand questions: Visualization techniques for social science discovery in computational spaces".
