IT, media and communications studies

The research, led by Anastasia Bystrova and Ilia Karpov, is aimed at analyzing regional features in the online network using text and network analysis methods. In the modern world, online networks have become an integral part of life, playing an important role in the formation and maintenance of social connections. However, regional characteristics can have a significant impact on the nature of online interactions, creating unique social structures and dynamics.

The study examines a number of key questions:

• What factors influence the formation of communities taking into account the geographical context, and how does this affect their interaction?
• How are online communities distributed across different geographic areas and how does this affect their interactions?
• What linguistic features are characteristic of online communication in different regions?
• How do these linguistic features influence the formation and structure of online communities? What differences and similarities can be observed in online communication between different regions?
• What factors might explain these differences and similarities in online communication practices?

The methods used include text analysis to identify linguistic features, network analysis to study the structure and interaction of communities on the online network. The expected results of the study will allow us to better understand the influence of regional factors on online interaction, identify features of the formation of communities and identify factors that explain the differences and similarities in communication practices between regions.

The results of this project can be presented in the form of a “network map” divided into areas, which in turn are based on research and analysis of the social network space. To achieve the result, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

• Profiling users of online social networks using graph embeddings.
  • Many characteristics of a user can be determined by their environment. This is how friends determine a user’s political views, interests, and even income, and his professional interests and hobbies are often described in groups.
  • As part of the project, it is proposed to try profiling such characteristics as the city of residence, place of study.
• Predicting message popularity based on network and text analysis.
  • As a rule, the number of likes for a post depends on three factors: the author of the post, the page on which the post was posted, and its content.
  • Thus, having the embedding of the post content, the embedding of the group and the embedding of the author, you can build an appropriate model.
  • It is proposed to take all groups with more than 5000 participants, build an embedding based on the connection of these groups with each other and train a text model that analyzes their content (without images) and then implement a classifier that predicts the popularity of a message on a scale from one to five.
• Analysis of the distribution of topics across communities across the entire network.
  • Clustering of online communities by their members and texts shows that some topics are concentrated in compact communities, while others are widely distributed throughout the network.
  • It is proposed to cluster messages into groups and then explore:
  1. Where text clusters do not intersect with network clusters.
  2. How does the distribution of a topic across the network correlate with its popularity and how does homogeneity change for different topics.
  3. Analysis and forecasting of changes in the interests of social network users over time.
  4. Distribution of slang – regional and longitudinal features.
• Analysis of the spread of news/trends in online networks.

The project, led by Sergei Davydov, is aimed at solving a scientific problem associated with the current lack of knowledge about the structure of Russian regional media systems, their features and directions of development. The main result of the project will be a network model of regional media systems in Russia and a methodology for monitoring its further transformations.

The relevance of solving this problem is associated with the significant transformation of regional mass communication systems that has been occurring in recent decades. In the context of digitalization and mediatization, regional authorities and business elites are losing their monopoly on media platforms due to a significant reduction in the barriers to their creation. The so-called new media are becoming the basis for the development of media and social activism. Online communities are being created on social networks and mobile platforms, setting an alternative regional agenda. Let us note the impact of the trends in the transformation of the Russian media system of the last two years (the departure of audiences from some foreign media platforms; the development of domestic platforms, including new projects) on regional segments, which also needs to be understood.

Although Russian regional media traditionally attracts the attention of both domestic and foreign researchers, their systematic empirical analysis remains a promising task, which we intend to solve within the framework of this project. Empirically, the research results will be useful for solving problems related to optimizing information flows, identifying unoccupied market niches and unmet audience needs, and effectively conducting media campaigns aimed at supporting socially significant tasks and projects. Particular attention within the framework of the study is expected to be paid to the poorly studied media systems of new regions of Russia.

Models of Russian regional media systems have not yet been described in a theoretical sense – the discussion of the relevant issues is based on the principles of correspondence and comparison with the national media systems of the countries of North America and Western Europe that have been most thoroughly studied to date. It seems obvious that there is a need to form a Russian social theory of media systems based on domestic realities and experience.

The research is carried out in a mixed methods paradigm and involves the sequential implementation of quantitative and qualitative stages of data collection and analysis. The expansion of the number of actors in the field of regional mass communications, the complication of relationships between them, and the increase in the volume of information produced require the use of network analysis as the main approach to studying this problem. In addition, the study also uses more traditional tools for studying media systems - desk research, a series of in-depth interviews with experts in the field of functioning and development of regional media systems in Russia, and ethnographic analysis of individual elements of media systems.

The specificity of the proposed research, which determines its scientific novelty and theoretical value, is manifested:

• at the level of problems and goals of the study: the project is aimed at closing the gaps in knowledge about the structure of the media systems of the Russian Federation, its features and directions of development;
• at the level of methodology: the project involves a comprehensive analysis of media communication texts with their senders and addressees;
• at the data level: the project involves collecting a unique database characterizing the interactions between the actors of regional media systems;
• at the theoretical level: the project involves the formation of a Russian social theory of media systems based on domestic realities and experience.

The proposed analysis is based on the results of the second wave of the Journalistic Role Performance (JRP) project (www.journalisticperformance.org). This international study is based on data from 365 media outlets in 37 countries and was conducted between 2020 and 2021. The curator of the project from Russia is Sergey Davydov.

The original methodology involves conducting content analysis, which makes it possible to deeply examine the professional roles of journalists and determine how different social and cultural contexts explain differences in the embodiment of journalistic roles for different media platforms and media agenda topics.

As part of the current project, based on the available data, networks are built based on the connections between the publications coded in the study and the journalistic roles identified in them, which makes it possible to study the co-presence of various indicators of journalistic roles, including those related to different “ideal types” of journalistic activity ( “citizen journalist”, “watchdog”, etc.).

The concept of literacy, which arose in the context of a person's ability to read and write, has significantly transformed in recent decades. The processes of industrialization and urbanization are accompanied by increasing complexity of technologies for the production, storage, distribution and consumption of information. Extensive growth in literacy is reflected in universal literacy programs successfully implemented in many countries around the world. In the context of Sergei Davydov’s dissertation research “Digital literacy of civil society in Russia”, the trend of intensification of literacy is of greater interest. It is expressed in a significant expansion of the set of competencies necessary for effective activities in the modern information space. A reflection of this process in the language is the emergence of new concepts - particular types of literacy, the meanings of which are not synonymous, but partially overlapping, for example: information literacy, computer literacy, news literacy, media literacy, etc. According to UNESCO, “literacy is a lifelong process of learning and learning to read, write and do math throughout life and is part of a broader set of skills that includes digital skills, media literacy, sustainable development and global citizenship education, and professional skills".

In the context of modern economic and social development of Russia, the competencies that cover the concept of digital literacy are of particular relevance. Digitalization of society and building a digital economy are postulated as priority government tasks. In the context of digitalization and mediatization, digital literacy becomes the most important condition for social integration, uniting all types of private literacy, just as the network digital media environment integrates traditional types of mass communications, both electronic and print.

As part of this direction, a series of research projects were implemented, including the “Index of Digital Literacy in the Regions of Russia” (ROCIT/Higher School of Economics 2015-2018), a study of the digital competencies of Russians (VTsIOM/SBG, 2020), a study of the digital competencies of museum workers (RAEK/IKOM Russia/NRU HSE/Microsoft, 2020), etc.