Number of reply comments (User Comments/Interactions)

Abstract

The variable ‘number of reply comments’ is an indicator of interactivity in online discussions. The number of reply comments is a simple measure of how much response a user comment has received. It is applicable if platforms that host comment sections offer the technical possibility to users to respond directly to existing user comments. The reply comments (also called ‘sub-level comments’ or ‘child comments’) then usually appear indented below the existing user comment they refer to (also called ‘top-level comment’ or ‘parent comment’). The measure does not provide information about the quality of the interaction between the commenters. It neither covers interactivity that occurs “outside” of comment threads below top-level comments, i.e. commenters responding in new top-level comments instead of sub-level comments. Field of application/theoretical foundation: Normative approaches to discourse ethics (e.g. Habermas, 1992) evaluate interactivity as a prerequisite for high-quality discourses. Example studies: Medium Measure Unit of analysis Studies Online; online discussions below news posts Number of reply comments (sub-level comments) to a top-level comment Individual user comments Naab & Küchler (work in progress) Info about variables Variable name/definition: Anzahl der Antwortkommentare auf einen Nutzerkommentar Operationalization/coding instructions: Manuell: Zählen Sie die Kind-Kommentare (Antwortkommentare, Second-Level-Kommentare), die zu einem Eltern-Kommentar (Top-Level-Kommentar) verfasst wurden und tragen die Anzahl ein. Automatisiert: Sofern ein Datensatz alle Nutzerkommentare eines Kommentarthreads, Informationen über das Eltern- bzw. Kind-Level jedes Kommentars sowie eine Zuordnung aller Kind-Kommentare zu einem Eltern-Kommentar enthält, ist es möglich, die Anzahl der Kind-Kommentare für jeden Eltern-Kommentar per Auswertungssoftware zu aggregieren. Level of analysis: Kommentarthread (Eltern-Kommentar + alle zugehörigen Kind-Kommentare/Antwortkommentare)