Please note: This master’s research paper presentation will be given online.
Syed
Saad
Naseem, Master’s
candidate
David
R.
Cheriton
School
of
Computer
Science
Supervisor: Professor Lukasz Golab
We identify discussion communities on the Reddit social curation platform that frequently mention COVID-19-related terms. We apply the Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) topic modeling algorithm coupled with lexicon analysis using LIWC and question extraction to extract topics discussed by these communities. In addition to forums dedicated to COVID-19, we find such discussions on general question-answering forums, on a forum for teenagers, and on advice forums, specifically medical, mental health, relationship, and legal advice. Topic modeling results reveal the hardships of life during the pandemic and the effects of social distancing: fear of contracting the virus, job safety and security, loss of motivation and productivity, troubles with online activities, and dealing with those who do not follow social distancing rules.
To join this master’s research paper presentation on Zoom, please go to https://zoom.us/j/92347804477.