Tweeting #RamNavami: A Comparison of Approaches to Analyzing Bipartite Networks

Michael T. Heaney

IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, 2021, vol. 10, issue 2, 127-135

Abstract: Bipartite networks , also known as two-mode networks or affiliation networks , are a class of networks in which actors or objects are partitioned into two sets, with interactions taking place across but not within sets. These networks are omnipresent in society, encompassing phenomena such as student-teacher interactions, coalition structures and international treaty participation. With growing data availability and proliferation in statistical estimators and software, scholars have increasingly sought to understand the methods available to model the data-generating processes in these networks. This article compares three methods for doing so: (a) Logit (b) the bipartite Exponential Random Graph Model (ERGM) and (c) the Relational Event Model (REM). This comparison demonstrates the relevance of choices with respect to dependence structures, temporality, parameter specification and data structure. Considering the example of Ram Navami, a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Ram, the ego network of tweets using #RamNavami on 21April 2021 is examined. The results of the analysis illustrate that critical modelling choices make a difference in the estimated parameters and the conclusions to be drawn from them.

Keywords: Bipartite network; two-mode network; ERGM; REM; Twitter; Ram Navami (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/22779752211018010 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:iimkoz:v:10:y:2021:i:2:p:127-135

DOI: 10.1177/22779752211018010

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().