Mark my Words: The Design of an Innovative Methodology to Detect and Analyze Interpersonal Health Conversations in Web and Social Media

Internet technology in which social media play a central role offers new opportunities for health communication. The Center for Media & Health (CMH) in the Netherlands in collaboration with the University of Twente developed a methodology called Mark My Words (MMW) to detect and monitor interpersonal conversations on social media. The MMW methodology is based on the concept of “markers” and on data analysis via text mining techniques. MMW is applied in an innovative web-based entertainment-education series called SndBites. This article describes the design of this new research methodology and shares the methodological advantages and challenges.