Everyday life information seeking in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic: daily topics of information needs in social Q&A

Abstract

PurposeThis study investigated information needs on COVID-19 by identifying topics discussed on social questions and answers (Q&A) about daily routines, problems, and health issues for survival. A layered model of contexts for everyday life information seeking (ELIS) was adapted for interpreting topics to better understand the contexts in which users could relate information needs.Design/methodology/approachQuestions and answers posted on Naver Knowledge-iN were collected and analyzed during the first nine months following the outbreak. Time distribution, topic modeling, and association rule mining were applied to examine the topics on COVID-19 and their temporal variation.FindingsNumerous topics related to the cognitive context (symptoms and masks) and situational contexts (international affairs, financial support, study, and work) were discovered. Topics related to social context were discussed moderately, but the number of questions on this topic increased with time. Strong associations were observed between terms related to symptoms, indicating their importance as a COVID-19 topic in health.Originality/valueThis study investigated topics of information needs using social Q&A data in which not only information inquiry but also information sharing coexist. The findings can help bridge the theory of ELIS to topic modeling in practice. The insights gained from this study can be used by information service providers for developing guidance and programs about how to survive during a pandemic.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-10-2021-0547.

Political ideology and differences in seeking COVID-19 information on the internet: examining the comprehensive model of information seeking

“…This article's findings will also provide implications for health and risk management practice and health campaign development. Recent research on information needs reveals that questions and answers about symptoms and masks were dominant online during the pandemic (Kim and Oh, 2022). This study shows the internet has become an important channel for many people searching for COVID-19 information, which is consistent with previous studies (Hern andez-Garc ıa and Gim enez-J ulvez, 2020; Kim et al, 2020).…”

Dear Pandemic: A topic modeling analysis of COVID-19 information needs among readers of an online science communication campaign

“…Does that mean I am immunocompromised?”). In their analysis of COVID-19 information seeking on Naver Knowledge iN, Kim & Oh similarly identified topics related to the “cognitive context” (e.g., symptoms and masks) as well as the “situational context” (e.g., financial support, study, and work) [ 13 ]. Compared to their study, as well as other studies of general social media discourse [ 8 , 9 ], we found a higher prevalence of technical terms among the top words ( Table 1 ).…”

“…Finally, the sequential rise of topics within the ‘COVID-19 Vaccine’ theme–from ‘Development and Rollout,’ to ‘Safety and Side Effects,’ to ‘Dosage and Timing,’ to ‘Behavior Surrounding Vaccination’–mirrored the real-world progression of vaccine-related events. Kim & Oh similarly found that COVID-19 information needs related to the “social context” rose in prevalence later than information needs related to the “cognitive” and “situational” contexts [ 13 ]. Science communicators should thus be mindful of these temporal factors when fulfilling information needs.…”

“…Science communicators may therefore have difficulty translating the results of such studies into practice. In contrast, Kim & Oh were able to more plausibly conclude that the topics they identified among posts to the question-and-answer platform Naver Knowledge iN reflected users’ information needs [ 13 ]. Since our study explicitly focused on readers who contacted science communicators about their information needs, our insights may be even more readily translated into practice.…”

“…Among the studies that focused on information-seeking, Mangono et al and Chan & Chua used Google search volume as a proxy for information needs during the onset of the pandemic [ 11 , 12 ]. Kim & Oh used a dataset of COVID-19 related posts on the South Korean question-and-answer platform Naver Knowledge iN, allowing for a more direct analysis of information needs [ 13 ]. However, their dataset was limited to posts from February 1 to October 31, 2020, and questions were answered by the lay public rather than by experts with specialized, fact-checked knowledge.…”