Sexual health information-seeking behavior on a social media site: predictors of best answer selection
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-06-2017-0204 |
| Date | 08 October 2018 |
| Pages | 880-897 |
| Published date | 08 October 2018 |
| Author | Yong Jeong Yi |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Bibliometrics,Databases,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet,Records management & preservation,Document management |
Sexual health information-seeking
behavior on a social media site:
predictors of best answer selection
Yong Jeong Yi
Department of Library and Information Science, Sungkyunkwan University,
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to identify sexual health information needs and the cognitive and
affective factors correlated with the best answer chosen by social Q&A users.
Design/methodology/approach –The study collected questions and answers regarding sexual health
information on a social Q&A site, and analyzed the questions and a paired sample composed of best and
non-best answers (n¼480).
Findings –The main information needs of consumers are human development, sexual behavior, and sexual
health. Best answers are more likely to include both cognitive (higher level of readability, risky information,
social norms) and affective factors (empathy, positive/negative feelings, and optimistic information) than
non-best answers.
Research limitations/implications –The study illuminates the roles of social Q&A as a unique platform
to discuss sensitive health topics due to the fact that consumers use such social media sites as critical
complementary health information sources.
Practical implications –If health information providers develop information with the factors that the
study suggests, not only will it be more adopted by consumers, but it will also ameliorate the quality concerns
about online health information.
Originality/value –Previous studies only in vestigated the most prevalent factors, rath er than the most
effective ones, which have a greater influence on best answer selection. This study compares the best
answers and the non-bes t answers to overcome the limitatio ns of the previous studies. Above a ll, the study
applied the persuasio n concepts to address the co gnitive and affective perspectives to the ans wer
evaluations of social Q&A.
Keywords Consumer health information, Social Q&A, Answer quality evaluation, Health information-seeking,
Sexual health information
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The advancement of Web 2.0 technologies has spurred laypeople, i.e., consumers, to seek
and share health information throughonline communities (Bowler et al., 2013; Jin et al., 2016).
It is widely known that health information is more sensitive than general information
due to its critical effect on human life and health (Yi et al., 2012). In the healthcare field,
information is updated and changes quickly, even with the growth of controversial issues.
Whenever such issuesrevolve around unfamiliar healthcare problems or contradictory health
information, consumers tend to tap into the diverse health information sources available to
them to make sense of uncertain health issues (Genuis, 2012). Such activities are salient in
online communities.
Online community users share and construct collaborative knowledge by asking and
answering questions. These sites are referred to as community-driven knowledge sites, or
social Q&A sites. There are two fundamental reasons why social Q&A sites are thriving.
One reason is that they meet the information needs of consumers who prefer interpersonal
information sources, that is, consumers tend to acquire health information through
Online Information Review
Vol. 42 No. 6, 2018
pp. 880-897
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-06-2017-0204
Received 1 July 2017
Revised 25 October 2017
12 January 2018
Accepted 14 March 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean
Government (NRF –2013S1A5B5A07047197).
880
OIR
42,6
interaction between people, either online or offline ( Johnson and Case, 2012). The other is
that social networking sites incorporating social Q&A provide consumers with a range of
benefits and opportunities to empower themselves through sharing both emotions and
knowledge (Lessick, 2015). Questioners can choose one of the answers provided for their
questions as a best answer. The rest of the answers, which are not chosen, are tagged as
non-best answers (Arai and Handayani, 2013). Consumers’answer evaluations are
influenced by their emotions, as well as their knowledge and thoughts
(Yi et al., 2012). Since a best answer is selected by a consumer who is not a healthcare
expert, it does not ensure its quality.
In South Korea, Naver Knowledge iN is one of the successful social Q&A sites frequently
compared with Yahoo! Answers (Lee and Jang, 2010). Since its launch on 2002, Naver
Knowledge iN has accumulated over 44m users, 150m questions, and 210m answers
(BizSpring, 2002/2016; Newsis.com, 2015). On this site, consumers actively search and share
private, yet sensitive health information allowing health professionals to provide answers
for free with the benefit of advertising their workplaces; hence, Naver Knowledge iN is an
excellent site for examining sexual health information behavior among the general Korean
population and the influence of expertise on selecting the best answers (Bae and Yi, 2017).
Culturally, Koreans do not feel comfortable opening up about their sexual health or
sexual life. Social Q&A sites help consumers obtain collective knowledge and insight from a
large number of people. Additionally, by assuring anonymity, privacy, and easy access,
these types of internet sites provide a unique place to discuss sexual topics, which
range from general issues such as reproduction and sexual identity to highly sensitive
issues such as sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and sexual abuse (Bowler et al., 2013;
Buhi et al., 2010; Jin et al., 2016).
Although sexual health is perceived as a trendy topic, there is inadequate research on
what kind of sexual health information needs and information-seeking behaviors consumers
have on social Q&A sites (Magee et al., 2012). Previous social Q&A studies focused on
investigating the most prevalent factors to see which factors influenced the best answer
selection. This was done by analyzing only the best answers; the methodology was not
appropriate for identifying the most “effective”factors which have a greater influence on
best answer selection (Bowler et al., 2013; Jin et al., 2016). To overcome the limitations of the
previous studies, the present study compares best answers and non-best answers. Above
all, the study applies the persuasion concepts to address the cognitive and affective
perspectives to the answer evaluations of social Q&A, which has not been attempted by
previous studies. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to investigate sexual health
information needs and the cognitive and affective factors correlated with the best answer.
Meticulous attention to sexual health information-seeking behavior on social Q&A can
inform health information providers on how to guide consumers to quality health
information or inform on how to design health literacy education. To bridge the research
gap mentioned above, the present study proposes the research questions as follows (specific
H1 to H10, will be presented in the following conceptual framework and hypotheses):
RQ1. What are the sexual health informational needs of social Q&A users?
RQ2. Do cognitive factors influence the askers’selection of best answers (H1–H5)?
RQ3. Do affective factors influence the askers’selection of best answers (H6–H10)?
Conceptual framework and hypotheses
Using the internet or social media as a source of health information is prevalent (Fox and
Duggan, 2013). Social Q&A sites have changed the rules for seeking health information
by facilitating community-based social searches. Compared to web search results, social
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Sexual health
information-
seeking
behavior
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