Projects related to Online Social Network Analysis

Under my supervision, several recent MSc/MEng/BSc projects have explored online social network analysis (see the list below). These projects are designed to be iterative, with each new student building upon the foundation laid by their predecessors. This collaborative approach enables them to learn from previous experiences, leverage existing results, and contribute their own unique insights to our ongoing research endeavours.

These projects pursue two primary objectives. First, they aim to develop innovative measurements, algorithms, and models to enhance our understanding and prediction of individual user status, behaviours, and interactions on online social network platforms like X and Bluesky. For instance, we seek to predict the probability of a user reposting content created by another user. While existing methods often prioritise post content, our experimental results indicate that a significant portion of reposting behaviour can be predicted based on user profiles and past behaviour, independent of the content itself.

Second, these projects explore novel applications of social networking data to research questions where social interconnections have been historically under-examined. Examples include: How can we gauge a user's opinion solely based on their social connections? How can we improve the identification of users susceptible to unreliable news? And how can we enhance the prediction of investment decisions by considering users' social connections on online platforms?

These projects employ a diverse array of research methods and tools, encompassing machine learning techniques (such as decision trees, feature analysis, neural networks, and LLMs), statistical and computational methods (including Bayesian inference, dimensionality reduction algorithms, and numerical simulations), and network science approaches (like community detection).

My role in this process is to guide students in identifying their academic passions, research skills, and areas of expertise. Collaboratively, we develop project plans that not only align with their interests and capabilities but also provide a platform for them to explore novel ideas and make substantial contributions to the field.

Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in doing a project under my supervision.  

Recent MSc/MEng/BSc Projects (click on the project titles below to download their reports).

• MSc projects in Summer 2025

  • Reposting Prediction on Bluesky: A Comparative Analysis of User-based and Message-based Features

  • Predicting Users Likely to Repost Unreliable News on X (Twitter)

• MEng project in Spring 2025 

  • A Network-Based Exploration of Political Grouping on Twitter

• MSc project in Summer 2024

  • Ideological Positioning of US Congress Members using Twitter Following Networks

• BSc project in Spring 2024

  • Opinion Measurement Based on Social Connectivity Data 

Requirements: 

• Good knowledge and skills in mathematical analysis, machine learning. Knowledge in network science is a bonus. 

• Good skills and experience in programming, such as Python.

Contact: 

Prof. Shi ZHOU <s.zhou (at) ucl.ac.uk>