The Pattern of Tweets by Malaysian Twitter Users during COVID-19 Vaccination

Nor Eisya Shabila, Ismail (2024) The Pattern of Tweets by Malaysian Twitter Users during COVID-19 Vaccination. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

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Abstract

The current study examined the Malaysian Twitter users’ sentiment on COVID-19 vaccination utilizing Thematic Analysis, sentiment categories, and Appraisal Theory to observe the i) themes on COVID-19 vaccination that were discussed in tweets; and ii) patterns of sentiments on COVID-19 based on the Appraisal Theory. Twitter messages written by Malaysians from January 1 to December 31, 2021, were collected, which further divided into three different phases. The analysis found three themes and 17 sub-themes with a total of 85 (56.7%) of the tweets focused on the administration of the vaccine, 52 tweets (34.7%) expressed concerns about the impact of vaccines, and 13 tweets (8.7%) discussed vaccination and COVID-19 control. In addition, most of the Malaysian Twitter users have a positive view on COVID-19 vaccination, evidenced by the fact that positive sentiment was the most frequently expressed sentiment category (n=78) of all the three phases, with the highest frequency of positive tweets from Phase 2 (22%), followed with Phase 1 (16.7%), and Phase 3 (13.3%). The usage appraisal aspects of Engagement (n=218) recorded the highest category followed by Attitude (n=128) and Graduation (n=118) indicate the Malaysian Twitter users were paying more attention to the evaluation of events and situations, rather than expressing their own attitudes or opinions or focusing on the level of intensity or focus on their language. In conclusion, this study found the changing pattern of the discussion in relation to the different phases of disease spread and control in Malaysia.

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