Database of New Zealand mental health research
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Searching and Analyzing Social Networking Site in Web 2.0
Investigator(s) / AuthorsTiong-Thye Goh, Y.P. Huang, C.L. Liew
| Principal contact | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dr Tiong-Thye Goh |
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Email address is not available; please contact keadmin@tepou.co.nz for more information. |
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| The research | |
| Summary | We explore the techniques used by other researchers in identifying emotional content in unstructured data, and make use of existing technologies to attempt to identify at-risk bloggers. We test the accuracy of a simple algorithm for scoring the presence of certain key words and phrases in blog entries. |
| Objectives | Blogs provide an outlet for youth to explore and share their emotions with the world. By exploring the possibilities of mining the vast repositories of social networking sites, we hope to be able to identify bloggers who are at risk of suicide so that appropriate intervention can take place. |
| Study design | Using a selection of real blog entries harvested from MySpace.com, supplemented with artificial entries from our research. A sample of approximately 15000 user IDs of members aged 15-24 living in New Zealand of roughly equal gender and age distribution was gathered from MySpace.com. |
| Methods | Quantitative, Feasibility, Pilot |
| Results | An analysis carried out on the top 20 ranked bloggers identified using the wildcard dictionary showed that 25% exhibited signs of depression. On the other hand, a number of false positives also existed, primarily caused by irrelevant content such as quizzes, narrative stories, or biblical passages which contained some key phrases from the dictionaries. |
| Conclusions | The ability to definitively identify bloggers with suicidal tendencies is limited in accuracy. However, the research we have done thus far has been successful in demonstrating that simple techniques are able to identify bloggers who are potentially at risk of suicide. A 14% automated identification rate is certainly a positive step in assisting suicide prevention organisations with better organising their efforts. |
| Key Descriptors | Early Intervention, Management, Stress, Suicide/Attempted Suicide/Self Harm, Promotion |
| Disciplines | Support Work |
| Settings | Community |
| Diagnostic Categories | Depression |
| Populations | General Population |
| Other Keywords | |
| Ethics approval | No |
| Academic led | Yes |
| Service led | No |
| How were service users involved | No involvement |
| Publication in peer review journal | Yes |
| Supporting information | |
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Page last updated: 7 November 2008