How can social media analytics assist authorities in pandemic-related policy decisions? Insights from Australian states and territories

Tan Yigitcanlar; Nayomi Kankanamge; Alexander Preston; Palvinderjit Singh Gill; Maqsood Rezayee; Mahsan Ostadnia; Bo Xia; Giuseppe Ioppolo

doi:10.1007/s13755-020-00121-9

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How can social media analytics assist authorities in pandemic-related policy decisions? Insights from Australian states and territories

Journal article

Peer reviewed

How can social media analytics assist authorities in pandemic-related policy decisions? Insights from Australian states and territories

Tan Yigitcanlar, Nayomi Kankanamge, Alexander Preston, Palvinderjit Singh Gill, Maqsood Rezayee, Mahsan Ostadnia, Bo Xia and Giuseppe Ioppolo

Health Information Science and Systems, Vol.8, pp.1-21

2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13755-020-00121-9

PMID: 33078073

Appears in COVID-19 Research

Abstract

COVID-19

pandemic-related policy

social media analytics

crowdsources data

urban informatics

Australia

Background and objectives Due to COVID-19, various countries introduced lockdowns and limited citizen movements. These restrictions triggered an increased use of digital technologies and platforms by the public. This provides an opportunity for the authorities to capture public perceptions on COVID-19 from social media channels to make informed decisions. The use of social media analytics during pandemics for decision-making, however, is an understudied area of research. Thus, this study aims to generate insights into how social media analytics can assist authorities in pandemic-related policy decisions. Methods This study involved a social media analysis approach—i.e., systematic geo-Twitter analysis—that contains descriptive, content, sentiment, and spatial analyses. Australian states and territories are selected as the case study context for the empirical investigation. This study collected 96,666 geotagged tweets (originated from Australia between 1 January and 4 May 2020), and analysed 35,969 of them after data cleaning. Results The findings disclose that: (a) Social media analytics is an efficient approach to capture the attitudes and perceptions of the public during a pandemic; (b) Crowdsourced social media data can guide interventions and decisions of the authorities during a pandemic, and; (c) Effective use of government social media channels can help the public to follow the introduced measures/restrictions. Conclusion The findings are invaluable for authorities to understand community perceptions and identify communities in needs and demands in a pandemic situation, where authorities are not in a position to conduct direct and lengthily public consultations.

Details

Title: How can social media analytics assist authorities in pandemic-related policy decisions? Insights from Australian states and territories
Authors: Tan Yigitcanlar (Corresponding Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Nayomi Kankanamge - Queensland University of Technology
Alexander Preston - Queensland University of Technology
Palvinderjit Singh Gill - Queensland University of Technology
Maqsood Rezayee - Nangarhar University
Mahsan Ostadnia - Islamic Azad University, Tehran
Bo Xia - Queensland University of Technology
Giuseppe Ioppolo - University of Messina
Publication details: Health Information Science and Systems, Vol.8, pp.1-21
Publisher: Springer
Date published: 2020
DOI: 10.1007/s13755-020-00121-9
ISSN: 2047-2501
PMID: 33078073
Organisation Unit: School of Law and Society
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991068409902621
Output Type: Journal article