Russian Regions Heads’ Telegram Channels: Testing of Research Tools

Abstract

The paper analyzes the channels of the heads of regions of the Russian Federation. The research of channels was divided into 4 stages: selection of channels, collection of statistical information, unloading of messages and processing of text information. The TGStat tool was used to collect data. All the information received was stored in a single database for comparative analysis. The following parameters were recorded: the total number of subscribers, the citation index, the average coverage of one publication, the total number of publications, the share of reading subscribers. Additionally, the dates of channel creation were analyzed and it was found that more than half of the studied channels were created in March 2022. The total base of unloaded messages amounted to 98.5 thousand posts. The task was set to automatically determine which topics are mentioned in the texts of the existing dataset. For this, an algorithm for solving text clustering problems was applied. As a result of cluster analysis of messages, 13 thematic clusters were identified, described by keywords. Thus, the data obtained allow us to evaluate the main topics that are covered in the accounts of officials. The pilot study was carried out as part of the RSF project, implemented at the E-Governance Center of the Institute of Design and Urban Studies ITMO University, focused on studying the specifics of electronic interaction between authorities and citizens at the regional level.