Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community
Published on: May 31, 2019
Empirical analysis and modeling of users' topic interests in online forums
1School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) have demonstrated their usefulness in spreading information. In BBS forums, a few posts that address currently popular social topics attract a lot of attention, and different users are interested in many different discussion topics. We investigate topic cluster features and user interests of an actual BBS forum, analyzing user posting and replying behavior. According to the growing process of BBS, we suggest a network model in which each agent only replies to the posts that belong to its specific topics of interest. A post that is replied to will be immediately assigned the highest priority on the post list. Simulation results show that characteristics of our model are similar to those of the real BBS. The model with heterogeneous user interests promotes the occurrence of popular posts, and the user relationship network possesses a large clustering coefficient. Bursts and long waiting time exist in user replying behavior, leading to non-Poisson user activity pattern. In addition, the model produces an analogous evolving trend of Gini coefficients for posts' and clusters' participants as BBS forums.
Related Concept Videos
Statistical Analysis: Overview
One of the most commonly used statistical quantifiers is the mean, which is the ratio between the sum of the numerical values of all results and the...
Observational Studies
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One example of...
Prediction Intervals
However, the point estimate is most likely not the exact value of the population parameter, but close to it. After calculating point estimates, we construct interval estimates, called confidence intervals or prediction intervals. This prediction interval comprises a range of values unlike the point estimate and is a better predictor of the observed sample value, y.
The...
Models, Theories, and Laws
Social Exchange Theory
Social Exchange Theory