An investigation on the evolution of diabetes data in social Q&A logs

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates the evolution of diabetics’ concerns based on the analysis of terms in the Diabetes category logs on the Yahoo! Answers website. Two sets of question-and-answer (Q&A) log data were collected: one from December 2, 2005 to December 1, 2006; the other from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. Network analysis and a t-test were performed to analyze the differences in diabetics’ concerns between these two data sets. Community detection and topic evolution were used to reveal detailed changes in diabetics’ concerns in the examined period. Increases in average node degree and graph density imply that the vocabulary size that diabetics use to post questions decreases while the scope of questions has become more focused. The networks of key terms in the Q&A log data of 2005–2006 and 2013–2014 are significantly different according to the t-test analysis of the degree centrality and betweenness centrality. Specifically, there is a shift in diabetics’ focus in that they have become more concerned about daily life and other nonmedical issues, including diet, food, and nutrients. The recent changes and the evolution paths of diabetics’ concerns were visualized using an alluvial diagram. The food- and diet-related terms have become prominent, as deduced from the visualization results.