An Evaluation of the Quality of Answers to Academic Questions Relating to COVID-19 on Academic Social Q&A Platforms

ABSTRACT

Academic social network sites have become an important channel by which scholars obtain academic information. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of academic social question and answer (Q&A) online platforms is a fast and efficient means of gathering information needed to solve research problems relating to the study of COVID-19. The question then is how to provide scholars with high-quality answers. Therefore, this research focuses on studying the characteristics of high-quality answers to COVID-19 questions on academic social Q&A platforms in terms of the answer content. By analyzing 6791 answers to 349 questions about COVID-19 on ResearchGate Q&A, high-quality academic answers on this topic should be rich in content, contain more negative emotions, be fluent in the use of language, and propose conjectures or hypotheses. This research helps to improve the provision of satisfactory academic information services for scholars during public health emergencies.