| Title |
Investigating Patterns of Participation in an Online Support Group for Problem Drinking: a Social Network Analysis
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, August 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s12529-016-9591-6 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Karen Urbanoski, Trevor van Mierlo, John Cunningham |
| Abstract |
This study contributes to emerging literature on online health networks by modeling communication patterns between members of a moderated online support group for problem drinking. Using social network analysis, we described members' patterns of joint participation in threads, parsing out the role of site moderators, and explored differences in member characteristics by network position. Posts made to the online support group of Alcohol Help Centre during 2013 were structured as a two-mode network of members (n = 205) connected via threads (n = 506). Metrics included degree centrality, clique membership, and tie strength. The network consisted of one component and no cliques of members, although most made few posts and a small number communicated only with the site's moderators. Highly active members were older and tended to have started posting prior to 2013. The distribution of members across threads varied from threads containing posts by one member to others that connected multiple members. Moderators accounted for sizable proportions of the connectivity between both members and threads. After 5 years of operation, the AHC online support group appears to be fairly cohesive and stable, in the sense that there were no isolated subnetworks comprised of specific types of members or devoted to specific topics. Participation and connectedness at the member-level was varied, however, and tended to be low on average. The moderators were among the most central in the network, although there were also members who emerged as central and dedicated contributors to the online discussions across topics. Study findings highlight a number of areas for consideration by online support group developers and managers. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 72 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 72 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 15 | 21% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 12 | 17% |
| Student > Master | 8 | 11% |
| Student > Bachelor | 7 | 10% |
| Researcher | 6 | 8% |
| Other | 13 | 18% |
| Unknown | 11 | 15% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 17 | 24% |
| Social Sciences | 15 | 21% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 9 | 13% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 7 | 10% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 5 | 7% |
| Other | 5 | 7% |
| Unknown | 14 | 19% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 12 September 2016.
All research outputs
#7,487,737
of 22,888,307 outputs
Outputs from International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
#376
of 901 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#119,950
of 343,743 outputs
Outputs of similar age from International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
#3
of 11 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,888,307 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 44th percentile – i.e., 44% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 901 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 9.2. This one is in the 49th percentile – i.e., 49% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 343,743 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 50% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 11 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 72% of its contemporaries.