Searching for Information Online: Using Big Data to Identify the Concerns of Potential Army Recruits

Salar Jahedi ; Jennie W. Wenger ; Douglas Yeung

RAND Corporation

RAND Corporation

关键词: Big Data;    Military Recruitment;    The Internet;    United States Army;   

DOI  :  10.7249/RR1197
ISBN  :  9780833094148
RP-ID  :  RR-1197-A

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: RAND Corporation Published Research

【 摘 要 】

This report assesses empirical applications of web search data and discusses the prospective value such data can offer Army recruiting efforts. The authors examine three different tools — Google Trends, Google AdWords, and Google Correlate — that can be used to access and analyze readily available, anonymous data from Internet searches related to the Army and to Army service. They found that Google search queries can inform how interest in military careers has evolved over time and by geographic location and can identify the foremost Army-related concerns that potential recruits have. Moreover, by analyzing how search terms correlate across time, it is possible to predict with reasonable accuracy what non-Army related terms people are searching for in the months before or after an Army query. These queries serve as leading and lagging indicators of army-related searches and can offer a glimpse into the concerns of individuals near the time period when they are considering joining. The results suggest that search terms can serve as an indicator of propensity and can be incorporated into models to predict highly qualified Army accessions.