Despite the growing body of research analysing information posted on social media, very few studies have focused on how ‘naturally occurring data’ could inform formative evaluations in health research. This article argues that exploratory data-mining techniques such as descending hierarchical classification, cluster and correspondence analysis could usefully be employed either as stand-alone or mixed methods in the design of needs assessments on health-related issues. To this end, the article reports on the application of text mining techniques to analyse YouTube video comments on chronic pain. The article finds that online forums such as YouTube are packed with information difficult to obtain through traditional research techniques where social desirability and fear of judgement may influence what people are willing to say. It argues that insights gained from social media research could provide important substantive information for health practitioners.
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