Factors involved in user behavior in social networks using the Delphi method of several experts

Abstract

In today's world, where the use of the Internet and the use of social networks has expanded and has affected various aspects of human life, as well as the imperceptible change in user behavior in dealing with social networks, the analysis of user behavior has become very important for organizations. Fuzzy concept maps play a very important role when we use uncertain data. One of the simplest methods for the effective calculation and analysis of fuzzy conceptual maps is the use of directed graphs and connection matrices. So far, there has been no meaningful research in the field of studying user behavior in social networks using fuzzy conceptual maps. In this thesis, the factors involved in user behavior in social networks have been collected from several experts using the Delphi method and analyzed using fuzzy conceptual maps and the relationships between these factors have been extracted. Keywords: user behavior, fuzzy conceptual map, social networks Chapter 1 Research overview 1-1 Introduction

In today's world, where the use of the Internet and the use of social networks has expanded and has affected various aspects of human life, as well as the imperceptible change in the behavior of users in dealing with social networks, the analysis of user behavior is very important for organizations. Therefore, in this section, the necessity of analyzing user behavior in social networks will be discussed and the problem space will be expressed. In addition, the upcoming challenges will be examined and the structure of the research method will be presented.

1-2- The necessity of studying user behavior

Consumer behavior is one of the most important issues that have been discussed and researched in recent decades. Organizations have always wanted to understand how consumers make decisions so that they can use it in the design of their products and services. These advantages include helping managers to make decisions, providing a cognitive basis through consumer analysis, helping legislators and regulators to enact laws related to buying and selling goods and services, and finally helping consumers to make better decisions (Siebert, 1996).

New technologies have always tried to change the behavior of users and force them to use that technology. In today's era, the Internet has become the most important source of information for many goods and services due to its ease of use, wide range and high speed. The unique characteristics of the Internet and its complete superiority over other markets have led many organizations to expand their services and products in the Internet markets. Therefore, the Internet environment has become a very competitive environment for organizations.

The most important social element in the Internet, which has become very important in the last few years, is social networks. Online social networks can be likened to an exchange or shopping website. In the process of buying and checking user and consumer behavior, goods or services will be exchanged; These goods or services can be information, emotions and feelings (Houston, 1986).

What is exchanged in most social networks may not be physical, but it is equally or even more important. Many conclusions can be drawn from the study of user behavior in social networks. Also, understanding user behavior can help to attract more users and use their information in social networks.

1-3- Need for fuzzy concept maps

Many parameters that influence user behavior do not have enough certainty and for this reason they can be attributed to fuzzy sets and simply from maps used a fuzzy concept.

Fuzzy concept maps play a very important role when we use uncertain data. One of the simplest methods for effective calculation and analysis of fuzzy conceptual maps is the use of directed graphs and connection matrices (Aguilar, 2005).

1-4- Problem definition

Generally, in most decision-making processes and studying user behavior, quantitative methods are used that require a precise definition of the problem. Meanwhile, many parameters related to decision-making are qualitative or have uncertainties that are usually ignored and removed in these calculations.

The study of user behavior in social networks is one of the decision-making issues that has many qualitative parameters. For this reason, it is very appropriate to use methods that use qualitative and uncertain data.

Analysis by the method of fuzzy concept maps is one of those methods that uses qualitative and uncertain data in its calculations. For this reason, using the analysis of fuzzy conceptual maps is a suitable method to calculate and examine user behavior in social networks. 1-5- Challenges Ahead

Although many efforts have been made to analyze user behavior, but so far these discussions have not been implemented in social networks using fuzzy conceptual maps, and there are a number of challenges in this direction, which are listed below. We introduce some of them.

1-5-1- System dynamism

Social networks are dynamic systems that undergo many changes over time. In the analysis of user behavior, the change in the user's interests and behavior with the passage of time should be taken into account. 1-5-2- Inability to separate qualitative parameters Many of the used parameters are very close in meaning and create ambiguity for the analyst. The lack of separability due to the uncertainty of these parameters is one of the issues that creates many problems for the analyst. 1-6- Research method (images are available in the main file) 1-7- Structure of the thesis There are 5 chapters in this thesis, the order of which is as follows. It is:

Chapter One: Research Overview

In this chapter, the purpose and scope of the research is presented and the proposed approach is shown in general.

Chapter Two: Fuzzy Concept Maps

In this chapter, the analysis method of fuzzy concept maps, their types and how to use them is described.

Chapter Three: User Behavior

This chapter focuses on the importance of studying user behavior and changes. It deals with the emergence of the Internet and social networks.

Chapter 4: Proposed Model

In this chapter, the steps taken to advance this thesis are described.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

In this chapter, the result obtained as a continuation of the analysis mentioned in the fourth chapter is given, and finally, it offers suggestions for the further and future advancement of this thesis.

Chapter Two

Fuzzy Cognitive Maps

2-1- Introduction

In this chapter, we will first explain about classical and fuzzy sets and their characteristics. Then we will examine their differences and express the strengths of fuzzy sets. Next, we will describe fuzzy conceptual maps, their nature, formation methods, and types. Each element in this set is called a member of the set.

If an element (a) is a member of the set (A), it is said that a belongs to the set A and it is denoted as The symbol E indicates full and not partial membership. On the other hand, the sign also indicates total non-membership; That is, it is not possible for an element to be partially a member of the set or not.  (Zhang and Liu, 2006)

2-3- Fuzzy set theory

The boundaries of classical sets should be precisely specified and as a result, membership in a set is determined with certainty. A member is clearly a member of a set or not. However, in the real world, no collection is implemented with this accuracy. For example, the collection of tall people is a collection whose boundaries cannot be precisely defined or for which there is no standard. To deal with this limitation in classical sets, the concept of fuzzy sets was mentioned.