Alexandria Digital Research Library

On the validity of geosocial mobility traces

Author:
Zhou, Lin
Degree Grantor:
University of California, Santa Barbara. Computer Science
Degree Supervisor:
Ben Y. Zhao and Heather Zheng
Place of Publication:
[Santa Barbara, Calif.]
Publisher:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Creation Date:
2014
Issued Date:
2014
Topics:
Computer Science
Keywords:
Location Based Social Networks
Mobility
Measurement
Genres:
Online resources and Dissertations, Academic
Dissertation:
M.S.--University of California, Santa Barbara, 2014
Description:

Mobile networking researchers have long searched for large-scale, fine-grained traces of human movement, which have remained elusive for both privacy and logistical reasons. Recently, researchers have begun to focus on geosocial mobility traces, e.g. Foursquare checkin traces, because of their availability and scale. But are we conceding correctness in our zeal for data? In this paper, we take initial steps towards quantifying the value of geosocial datasets using a large ground truth dataset gathered from a user study. By comparing GPS traces against Foursquare checkins, we find that a large portion of visited locations is missing from checkins, and most checkin events are either forged or superfluous events. We characterize extraneous checkins, describe possible techniques for their detection, and show that both extraneous and missing checkins introduce significant errors into applications driven by these traces.

Physical Description:
1 online resource (42 pages)
Format:
Text
Collection(s):
UCSB electronic theses and dissertations
ARK:
ark:/48907/f3tb153g
ISBN:
9781321568912
Catalog System Number:
990045119180203776
Rights:
Inc.icon only.dark In Copyright
Copyright Holder:
Lin Zhou
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