An analysis of students’ response to changes in financial situation during the pandemic by digital traces in the VKontakte social network

The article presents the results of a survey on the range of problems and questions of students regarding financial situation based on digital traces in the VKontakte social network. The analysis was based on posts in student communities and comments to them during the second academic year during the pandemic. To assess changes in the content of the discussed topics and issues in the communities, the results of research work of the Consortium of Big Data Researchers “Education in the context of coronavirus: big data as a tool for measuring the reaction of society” for February - June 2020 were used. Preparing data for analysis included downloading data from social networks, selecting relevant messages, identifying categories and thematic plots, and determining the sentiment of messages. According to the messages from the communities of the universities in the region, previously unloaded using specialized software (Polyanalyst, machine learning libraries), all messages were marked up according to the relevance of the topic being studied, which made it possible to further systematize messages by topic and tone. The content of the analyzed relevant messages allowed us to single out four main thematic categories such as scholarships and material assistance, the cost of educational and additional services, the possibility of obtaining additional income, and miscellaneous. In the group of presentations on the issues of scholarships and material assistance, thematic stories were highlighted on the amount and timing of payment of the scholarship and material assistance and on the procedure for awarding the scholarship. In the group of messages on the cost of basic and additional services, there were highlighted thematic stories about the price-quality of educational services, the return of the cost of training in a distance format of work, as well as the pricing of educational services. In the group of messages about the possibility of obtaining additional income, students talked mainly about the amount of the scholarship in comparison with the prevailing prices for goods and services and the need to search for additional sources of income. In the Miscellaneous group, low-frequency messages were considered on various thematic topics. The tone of the messages in which the students expressed their opinion and assessment was predominantly neutral, but the negative tone dominated at the beginning of each academic semester. The results of the study based on a sample of data from the VKontakte social network for the analyzed period can serve as a rationale for further research of messages on social networks in order to identify and analyze student feedback on the quality, efficiency and development of distance education in the country, as well as monitor the emergence / development / withering away problems and questions in the field of the financial condition of students.

pandemic, distance education, communities, social networks, relevant messages, relevant posts, sentiment, thematic categories, thematic stories

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