Valence-based homophily on Twitter: Network Analysis of Emotions and Political Talk in the 2012 Presidential Election

Itai Himelboim, Kaye D Sweetser, Spencer F Tinkham, Kristen Cameron, Matthew Danelo, Kate West
2014 New Media & Society  
This study integrates network and content analyses to examine valence-based homophily on Twitter or the tendency for individuals to interact with those expressing similar valence. During the 2012 federal election cycle, we collected Twitter conversations about 10 controversial political topics and mapped their network ties. Using network analysis, we discovered clusters-subgroups of highly self-connected users-and coded messages in each cluster for their expressed positive-to-negative emotional valence,
doi:10.1177/1461444814555096 fatcat:cknyvrhifjalzo7thgmedk6bma