What Counts as a Weak Tie? A Comparison of Filtering Techniques to Analyze Co-Exposure Networks

Social Networks, forthcoming

27 Pages Posted: 7 May 2019 Last revised: 9 Oct 2021

See all articles by Subhayan Mukerjee

Subhayan Mukerjee

University of Pennsylvania, Annenberg School for Communication

Tian Yang

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication

Georg Stadler

New York University (NYU) - Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences

Sandra González-Bailón

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication

Date Written: April 8, 2019

Abstract

Co-exposure networks offer a useful tool for analyzing audience behavior. In these networks, nodes are sources of information and ties measure the strength of audience overlap. Past research has used this method to analyze exposure to content on social media and the web. However, we still lack a systematic assessment of how different choices in the construction of these networks impact the results. Here we evaluate three different filtering rules that have been used in the literature to eliminate noise in raw data and identify the strongest connections (i.e., those above a certain weight). Moreover, we also provide a mathematical heuristic to choose the optimal threshold. To illustrate our approach, we use two observed networks measuring co-exposure to news sources on the web. We then formulate the problem of filtering the networks as a trade-off between network sparsity (i.e., the need to remove the weakest ties) and connectedness (i.e., the need to preserve the observed connectivity). Our mathematical approach resolves this problem by finding the threshold that maximizes the number of edges removed while minimizing the number of nodes becoming isolates. This analytical technique is generalizable and can be applied to the analysis of any weighted structure that requires solving a similar trade-off between network measures.

Keywords: weighted graphs; co-exposure networks; news exposure; thresholding; L-curve method.

Suggested Citation

Mukerjee, Subhayan and Yang, Tian and Stadler, Georg and González-Bailón, Sandra, What Counts as a Weak Tie? A Comparison of Filtering Techniques to Analyze Co-Exposure Networks (April 8, 2019). Social Networks, forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3368603 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3368603

Subhayan Mukerjee

University of Pennsylvania, Annenberg School for Communication ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

Tian Yang

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

Georg Stadler

New York University (NYU) - Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences ( email )

251 Mercer Street
New York, NY - 10012
United States

Sandra González-Bailón (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://dimenet.asc.upenn.edu/people/sgonzalezbailon/

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