Digital Trace Data Collection for Social Media Effects Research: APIs, Data Donation, and (Screen) Tracking

Communication Methods and Measures · 2023 · 142 citations

• Computer Science
• Computer Science
• Information Retrieval

In social media effects research, the role of specific social media content is understudied, in part attributable to the fact that communication science previously lacked methods to access social media content directly. Digital trace data (DTD) can shed light on textual and audio-visual content of social media use and enable the analysis of content usage on a granular individual level that has been previously unavailable. However, because digital trace data are not specifically designed for research purposes, collection and analysis present several uncertainties. This article is a collaborative effort by scholars to provide an overview of how three methods of digital trace data collection - APIs, data donations, and tracking - can be used in studying the effects of social media content in three important topic areas of communication research: misinformation, algorithmic bias, and well-being. We address the question of how to collect raw social media content data and arrive at meaningful measures with multiple state-of-the-art data collection techniques that can be used to study the effects of social media use on different levels of detail. We conclude with a discussion of best practices for the implementation of each technique, and a comparison of their advantages and disadvantages.

A Dynamic Dyadic Systems Approach to Interpersonal Communication

Journal of Communication · 2021 · 50 citations

• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Computer Science

Abstract This article articulates conceptual and methodological strategies for studying the dynamic structure of dyadic interaction revealed by the turn-to-turn exchange of messages between partners. Using dyadic time series data that capture partners’ back-and-forth contributions to conversations, dynamic dyadic systems analysis illuminates how individuals act and react to each other as they jointly construct conversations. Five layers of inquiry are offered, each of which yields theoretically relevant information: (a) identifying the individual moves and dyadic spaces that set the stage for dyadic interaction; (b) summarizing conversational units and sequences; (c) examining between-dyad differences in overall conversational structure; (d) describing the temporal evolution of conversational units and sequences; and (e) mapping within-dyad dynamics of conversations and between-dyad differences in those dynamics. Each layer of analysis is illustrated using examples from research on supportive conversations, and the application of dynamic dyadic systems analysis to a range of interpersonal communication phenomena is discussed.

Emotion socialization as a dynamic process across emotion contexts.

Developmental Psychology · 2020 · 43 citations

• Psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Social psychology

Emotion-related socialization behaviors that occur during parent-child interactions are dynamic. According to Eisenberg, Cumberland, and Spinrad's (1998) model, ongoing parental reactions to emotions and discussions of emotion indirectly shape children's socioemotional competence throughout childhood and adolescence. Typically developing adolescents-girls especially-are at increased risk for developing internalizing symptoms. We examined if and how emotion dynamics of mother-daughter interactions contribute to adolescent girls' internalizing symptoms. We applied grid-sequence analysis (Brinberg, Fosco, & Ram, 2017) to observational data obtained while N = 96 typically developing adolescent girls (Mage = 13.99 years) and their mothers engaged in 5 different emotionally-laden discussions. We identified patterns of expressed emotions that unfolded during each discussion and examined how interdyad differences in those patterns were associated with mothers' and daughters' internalizing symptoms. Dyads differed with respect to whether mothers or daughters tended to regulate positive emotion expressions. Interdyad differences in moment-to-moment dynamics of happy/excited and worried/sad discussions were associated with adolescent girls' social anxiety symptoms, although differences in emotion dynamics of proud, frustrated/annoyed, and grateful discussions were not. Taken together, results illustrate how methodological innovations are enabling new examination and detailed description of parent-child emotion socialization dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

In-Person Contacts and Their Relationship With Alcohol Consumption Among Young Adults With Hazardous Drinking During a Pandemic

Journal of Adolescent Health · 2020 · 34 citations

• Medicine
• Demography
• Environmental health

The idiosyncrasies of everyday digital lives: Using the Human Screenome Project to study user behavior on smartphones

Computers in Human Behavior · 2020 · 54 citations

• Computer Science
• Computer Science
• Human–computer interaction

Time for the Human Screenome Project

Nature · 2020 · 146 citations

• Computer Science
• Computer Science
• Data science