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HICSS
2009
IEEE

A Conceptual and Operational Definition of 'Social Role' in Online Community

14 years 4 months ago
A Conceptual and Operational Definition of 'Social Role' in Online Community
Both online and off, people frequently perform particular social roles. These roles organize behavior and give structure to positions in local networks. As more of social life becomes embedded in online systems, the concept of social role becomes increasingly valuable as a tool for simplifying patterns of action, recognizing distinct user types, and cultivating and managing communities. This paper standardizes the usage of the term ‘social role’ in online community as a combination of social psychological, social structural, and behavioral attributes. Beyond the conceptual definition, we describe measurement and analysis strategies for identifying social roles in online community. We demonstrate this process in two domains, Usenet and Wikipedia, identifying key social roles in each domain. We conclude with directions for future research, with a particular focus on the analysis of communities as role ecologies.
Eric Gleave, Howard T. Welser, Thomas M. Lento, Ma
Added 19 May 2010
Updated 19 May 2010
Type Conference
Year 2009
Where HICSS
Authors Eric Gleave, Howard T. Welser, Thomas M. Lento, Marc A. Smith
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