A classification scheme for content analyses of YouTube video comments
| Date | 02 September 2013 |
| Published date | 02 September 2013 |
| Pages | 693-714 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-06-2012-0078 |
| Author | Amy Madden,Ian Ruthven,David McMenemy |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management |
A classification scheme for
content analyses of YouTube
video comments
Amy Madden, Ian Ruthven and David McMenemy
Computer and Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The video-sharing website YouTube encourages interaction between its users via the
provision of a user comments facility. This was originally envisaged as a way for viewers to provide
information about and reactions to videos, but is employed for other communicative purposes
including sharing ideas, paying tributes, social networking, and question answering. This study seeks
to examine and categorise the types of comments created by YouTube users to highlight the various
ways in which this interactive feature has been employed as a means of communication and
self-expression.
Design/methodology/approach – By conducting a content analysis of 66,637 user comments on
YouTube videos the authors created a classification schema which may be used to categorise the types
of comments users leave.
Findings – The schema reveals ten broad categories, and 58 subcategories which reflect the
wide-ranging use of the YouTube comments facility.
Research limitations/implications – As YouTube continues to evolve, new types of comments
that do not appear in the scheme outlined will appear. However, this schema will provide an initial
structure upon which other investigations can build when analysing the ongoing use of the YouTube
comments feature as a communication device.
Practical implications – This scheme may be used for researchers in a variety of disciplines who
are interested in using user-generated content. The scheme will aid in the description and mining of
this content and provides a way of structuring this content into categories representing user intent.
Social implications – This study highlights the variety of purposes to which the user commenting
facility of YouTube is employed. These include purposes such as reminiscence, grieving, giving advice
and communication.
Originality/value – This is the first detailed, content-based analysis of the types of comments
created by YouTube users. The classification scheme facilitates the analysis of these comments for a
variety of purposes, including marketing, communication studies and studies of information seeking.
Keywords Analysis, Classification schemes, Communication, World Wide Web,User studies,
Information management, Video
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
YouTube is one of the most visited sites on the internet, and attracts 800 million unique
visitors per month (Google, 2011)[1]. It allows users to upload and share video clips on
a diverse array of topics, and also incorporates a growing number of additional
features that allow users to interact with the content and other users. Users can review
or rate what they have watched, and associate comments with videos to express their
opinions or respond to the video content.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0022-0418.htm
YouTube video
comments
693
Received 22 June 2012
Revised 25 October 2012
Accepted 5 November 2012
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 69 No. 5, 2013
pp. 693-714
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-06-2012-0078
The user comments facility has become a medium for other forms of communication
unrelated to the video content. Comments are used for self-expression, providing
emotional support, reminiscence, grieving and advice, as well as direct comments on
the video itself. In this paper, we explore the types of comments provided on YouTube,
proposing a classification schema to categorise comments on YouTube. This scheme
was based on a content analysis of 66,637 user comments. Our classification schema
consists of ten broad categories referring to the major classes of comments and then a
detailed breakdown into 58 subcategories which allow the classification of comments
into coherent groups of comments.
Existing literature is reviewed in section 2 in order to contextualise a study of
YouTube as a communication area and consider the challenges inherent in classifyi ng
social media comments. In section 3 we present the methodology employed to sample
comments, the process of creating and refining a classification schema for YouTube
comments, and a test of the inter-coder agreement of our scheme, and, in section 4, the
details of the classification scheme created. Implications and future work are
considered in section 5.
2. Background
In recent years the way in which people use the internet has been evolving, with a
perceivable shift towards increased user participation in uploading content (photos,
videos, audio and textual information), sharing and recommending content, and
leaving comments and ratings on the resources they access (Gill et al., 2007, p. 15;
Heckner and Wolff, 2009).
The sites that have facilitated this shift, by simplifying the processes of posting and
sharing material to be accessible and practical for a widespread user base, are referred
to under the heading of “Web 2.0” or “the social web”. Keenan and Shiri (2009, p. 439)
identify two main types of social websites, people-focused and activity-focused.
People-focused sites such as Facebook and MySpace are centred on users’ profile
pages, which contain personal information about the user, whereas activity-focused
sites focus on the presentation of content such as videos (YouTube), photos (Flickr),
audio material (last.fm) or links to other websites (Digg, del.icio.us).
The boundaries between these website types are becoming increasingly blurred, as
Facebook and MySpace allow users to upload, link to and embed a variety of content
types on their profile pages. On the other hand, some activity-focused sites like
YouTube incorporate people-focused features like profiles, subscription and friending
options, and user commenting facilities. These people-focused features can collectively
be referred to as the “community aspect” of the sites. In this paper we are interested in
how people use this community aspect of YouTube and for what communicative
purposes.
2.1 YouTube
YouTube was founded in 2005 and developed rapidly to become the largest
video-sharing website on the internet (Gill et al., 2007, pp. 15-16). Following its
acquisition by Google, the site has continued to grow in popularity and now attracts
almost half a billion unique users per month. The site allows users to upload an
unlimited number of video clips, which can be viewed and linked to by anyone.
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