Title: Social media monitoring and understanding: an integrated mixed methods approach for the analysis of social media

Authors: Guendalina Graffigna; Giuseppe Riva

Addresses: Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab., Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Via Ariosto 13, 20145, Milan, Italy; Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli, 1, 20123 Milan, Italy ' Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab., Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Via Ariosto 13, 20145, Milan, Italy; Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli, 1, 20123 Milan, Italy

Abstract: It is increasingly apparent that social media is a unique and important resource to explore spontaneous relations and discourses among individuals. Data analysis in social media, however, is difficult because approaches have not been streamlined. In this paper, we move from the discussion of present perspectives in the analysis of social media to then discuss the methodological strategies available and their limits. We finally discuss the value of choosing a mixed methods approach to the analysis of social media, exemplifying its heuristic contribution by a real research case.

Keywords: social media interaction; online spontaneous discourse; mixed methods; qualitative research; quantitative research; buzz metrics; hypoactive sexual desire disorder; HSDD; social media analysis; social media listening; social media monitoring; social media understanding.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2015.067083

International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2015 Vol.11 No.1, pp.57 - 72

Published online: 26 Jan 2015 *

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