Social media analytics is the systematic process of collecting, preparing, processing, and analyzing data generated through social media platforms to identify patterns, interpret online interactions, and derive insights into individual and collective behavior [1][2]. It combines quantitative and qualitative methods, including text mining, sentiment analysis, social network analysis, topic modeling, and statistical analysis, to examine user-generated content, communication networks, engagement patterns, and the circulation of information [1][32]. In communication and political research, social media analytics can be used to investigate public opinion, political discourse, civic participation, information diffusion, and responses to public events or policy decisions [2][43]. The analytical process typically involves defining a research question, collecting relevant data, cleaning and organizing the data, applying appropriate methods, and interpreting the results within their social and political contexts. Although social media data can provide timely insights into public expression and interaction, its interpretation requires attention to platform-specific user populations, sampling biases, data access restrictions, and privacy and ethical considerations. Social media analytics thus supports the systematic study of digital communication and its relationship with broader social and political processes.
- social media analytics
- social media data
- sentiment analysis
- social network analysis
- public opinion
- political communication
Social Media and Politics • Communication • Social Sciences • Social Sciences
References
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