On Analyzing Estimation Errors due to Constrained Connections in Online Review Systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates how limited reviewer-product connections in online review systems impair estimation accuracy, highlighting the negative impact of constrained connections on system performance.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of the effects of constrained connections on estimation performance in online review systems, supported by empirical insights.

Findings

Constrained connections lead to poorer estimation accuracy.

Bayesian Cramer Rao lower bound indicates increased estimation error.

Limited reviewer engagement reduces system reliability.

Abstract

Constrained connection is the phenomenon that a reviewer can only review a subset of products/services due to narrow range of interests or limited attention capacity. In this work, we study how constrained connections can affect estimation performance in online review systems (ORS). We find that reviewers' constrained connections will cause poor estimation performance, both from the measurements of estimation accuracy and Bayesian Cramer Rao lower bound.