Table · dataset · 2026
Building a digital-footprint-based typology of social agents in social media: A mixed-methods study of behavioral capabilities and information ecosystem roles
Listed in ZivaHub and HKU DataHub and figshare and Loughborough Research Repository and UP Research Data Repository — shown once because both records carry DOI 10.6084/m9.figshare.34021062.v1
<p dir="ltr">Generative large language models (LLMs) are reshaping social agents in ways that challengetraditional human–bot classifications, while existing typologies often rely on difficult-to-observe intentions and provide limited guidance for analyzing public behavioral traces.
Description
This study adopts an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design to develop and empirically examine an ideal-type typology of social agents based on public digital footprints.
Through a systematic literature review and coding analysis, Study 1 contextualizes the algorithmic conduit brokerage framework and derives two dimensions—content production capability and dissemination interaction capability—whose intersection yields four ideal-type prototypes. Study 2 examines their empirical correspondence using 157 community-verified social agent accounts from the Reddit BotRank dataset. A human–AI-assisted coding procedure achieved substantial agreement among three independent expert coders (Fleiss’ κ = 0.8484, based on initial unreconciled account-type classifications).
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The results reveal asymmetric capability configurations: Amplifier agents account for 60.5% of the sample, while 9.6% of accounts could not be confidently assigned to a single prototype based on the available public evidence. These findings show the analytical value of characterizing social agents through observable capability configurations rather than binary human–bot distinctions or inferred intentions. The study provides a theoretically grounded and empirically applicable framework for examining heterogeneous social agents while highlighting the need for longitudinal and cross-platform validation.</p>
Links
Where it is published
- DOI doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.34021062.v1 ↗
DOI / persistent id · from zivahub uct ac za
Catalogue records · 1
- OAI-PMH record api.figshare.com/v2/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&identifier=oai%3Af… ↗
metadata API · from zivahub uct ac za
Topics
- From keywords
- Astronomy & Astrophysics · Chemistry · Chemistry · Computer Science & AI · Computer Science & AI · Computer Science & AI · Computer Science & AI · Computer Science & AI · Earth & Environmental Science · Earth & Environmental Science · Earth & Environmental Science · Earth & Environmental Science · Earth & Environmental Science · Economics & Finance · Economics & Finance · Engineering · Engineering · Engineering · Human information behaviour · Human information behaviour · Human information behaviour · Human information behaviour · Human information behaviour · Humanities · Humanities · Humanities · Life Sciences · Life Sciences · Life Sciences · Materials Science · Mathematics & Statistics · Medicine & Health · Medicine & Health · Ocean & Atmospheric Science · Psychology & Behavioral Science · Psychology & Behavioral Science · Psychology & Behavioral Science · Psychology & Behavioral Science · Psychology & Behavioral Science · Social and community informatics · Social and community informatics · Social and community informatics · Social and community informatics · Social and community informatics · Social Science · Social Science · Social Science · Social Science · Social Science
- Inferred from text
- Longitudinal study 65%
Provenance · 5 source records, 55 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZivaHub | oai:figshare.com:article/34021062 | 8 d ago | JSON v1 |
| HKU DataHub | oai:figshare.com:article/34021062 | 8 d ago | JSON v1 |
| figshare | oai:figshare.com:article/34021062 | 7 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Loughborough Research Repository | oai:figshare.com:article/34021062 | 7 d ago | JSON v1 |
| UP Research Data Repository | oai:figshare.com:article/34021062 | 7 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| access_level | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461002 | mapping · researchdata up ac za | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Human information behaviour'] |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461002 | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Human information behaviour'] |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461002 | mapping · figshare com | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Human information behaviour'] |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461002 | mapping · datahub hku hk | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Human information behaviour'] |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461002 | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Human information behaviour'] |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461010 | mapping · researchdata up ac za | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Social and community informatics'] |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461010 | mapping · figshare com | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Social and community informatics'] |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461010 | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Social and community informatics'] |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461010 | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Social and community informatics'] |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:461010 | mapping · datahub hku hk | vocabulary-mapper@1.0.0 | keywords['Social and community informatics'] |
| concepts[field].local:field:astronomy | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:chemistry | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:chemistry | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:computer-science-ai | mapping · researchdata up ac za | connector:researchdata_up_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:computer-science-ai | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:computer-science-ai | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:computer-science-ai | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:computer-science-ai | mapping · datahub hku hk | connector:datahub_hku_hk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · datahub hku hk | connector:datahub_hku_hk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · researchdata up ac za | connector:researchdata_up_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:economics-finance | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:economics-finance | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:engineering | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:engineering | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:engineering | mapping · researchdata up ac za | connector:researchdata_up_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:humanities | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:humanities | mapping · researchdata up ac za | connector:researchdata_up_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:humanities | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:life-sciences | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:life-sciences | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:life-sciences | mapping · researchdata up ac za | connector:researchdata_up_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:materials-science | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:mathematics-statistics | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:medicine-health | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:medicine-health | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:ocean-atmospheric | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:psychology-behavioral | mapping · datahub hku hk | connector:datahub_hku_hk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:psychology-behavioral | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:psychology-behavioral | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:psychology-behavioral | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:psychology-behavioral | mapping · researchdata up ac za | connector:researchdata_up_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:social-science | mapping · repository lboro ac uk | connector:repository_lboro_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:social-science | mapping · datahub hku hk | connector:datahub_hku_hk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:social-science | mapping · researchdata up ac za | connector:researchdata_up_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:social-science | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:social-science | mapping · figshare com | connector:figshare_com@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[method].local:method:longitudinal-study | enrichment · zivahub uct ac za | keyword-concept-rules@1.0.0 | title+description (65%) |
| description | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | /metadata/dc/description |
| license | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | /metadata/dc/rights |
| publication_date | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | /metadata/dc/title |