Content and network analysis of tweets tagged with #aphasia: an emergent community of practice

Bryant, L; Brunner, M; Power, E; Hemsley, B

Content and network analysis of tweets tagged with #aphasia: an emergent community of practice

Bryant, L

Brunner, M Power, E

Hemsley, B

Permalink

Publisher:: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Aphasiology, 2020
Issue Date:: 2020-01-01

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download full textAdobe PDF (2.31 MB)

View on publisher's site

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Bryant, L https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8497-7406
dc.contributor.author	Brunner, M
dc.contributor.author	Power, E https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2638-0406
dc.contributor.author	Hemsley, B https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6255-3140
dc.date.accessioned	2021-03-08T01:41:04Z
dc.date.available	2021-08-12T19:01:03Z
dc.date.issued	2020-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Aphasiology, 2020
dc.identifier.issn	0268-7038
dc.identifier.issn	1464-5041
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/146896
dc.description.abstract	© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: A reduced quality of life for people with aphasia is in part associated with their loss of friendships and social networks. Twitter offers people with communication disability a way to exchange information, develop and maintain their social networks and connections, and participate in society online. However, little is known about how Twitter is used to exchange information about aphasia or to build communities online that might support people with aphasia in their communication goals. Aims: To examine the network data and content of tweets tagged with #aphasia to understand more about how Twitter is used by people with aphasia, aphasia organisations, aphasiologists, clinicians, and the public. Method: A Twitter hashtag study was conducted to locate tweets highly relevant to aphasia. A daily tweet capture using the Twitter search bar was conducted for one month, November 2018, searching for publicly available tweets tagged with aphasia-related hashtags. The tweets collected were analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Results: A sample of 2,519 tweets were included in the analysis. The sample comprised 865 original tweets and 1,654 retweets which included “quote tweets”, sent by 839 unique Twitter @Users. Tweet content reflected users discussing aphasia research, exchanging health information, advice and inspiration, providing personal stories, raising awareness about aphasia, and an emergent aphasia community online. Conclusion: The aphasia community in Twitter is relatively small compared to other communities focused on communication disability and is emergent in terms of its size and the strength of connections. The majority of people or organisations tweeting about aphasia, and hence influencing the network, were health professionals working in the field of aphasia. There was minimal conversational interaction evident. These results demonstrate that Twitter is underutilised as a platform for interaction and engagement in relation to aphasia, and further research is needed.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
dc.relation.ispartof	Aphasiology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/02687038.2020.1770195
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.subject	1103 Clinical Sciences, 1109 Neurosciences, 1702 Cognitive Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology
dc.title	Content and network analysis of tweets tagged with #aphasia: an emergent community of practice
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	1103 Clinical Sciences
utslib.for	1109 Neurosciences
utslib.for	1702 Cognitive Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Graduate School of Health/GSH.Speech Pathology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Graduate School of Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	true
dc.date.updated	2021-03-08T01:41:02Z
pubs.publication-status	Published

Abstract:

© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: A reduced quality of life for people with aphasia is in part associated with their loss of friendships and social networks. Twitter offers people with communication disability a way to exchange information, develop and maintain their social networks and connections, and participate in society online. However, little is known about how Twitter is used to exchange information about aphasia or to build communities online that might support people with aphasia in their communication goals. Aims: To examine the network data and content of tweets tagged with #aphasia to understand more about how Twitter is used by people with aphasia, aphasia organisations, aphasiologists, clinicians, and the public. Method: A Twitter hashtag study was conducted to locate tweets highly relevant to aphasia. A daily tweet capture using the Twitter search bar was conducted for one month, November 2018, searching for publicly available tweets tagged with aphasia-related hashtags. The tweets collected were analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Results: A sample of 2,519 tweets were included in the analysis. The sample comprised 865 original tweets and 1,654 retweets which included “quote tweets”, sent by 839 unique Twitter @Users. Tweet content reflected users discussing aphasia research, exchanging health information, advice and inspiration, providing personal stories, raising awareness about aphasia, and an emergent aphasia community online. Conclusion: The aphasia community in Twitter is relatively small compared to other communities focused on communication disability and is emergent in terms of its size and the strength of connections. The majority of people or organisations tweeting about aphasia, and hence influencing the network, were health professionals working in the field of aphasia. There was minimal conversational interaction evident. These results demonstrate that Twitter is underutilised as a platform for interaction and engagement in relation to aphasia, and further research is needed.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/146896