Comparing the extent and pattern of use of social networking sites by medical and non medical university students: a multi-center study

Figures & data

Figure 1 Observed frequencies of responses to statements about students’ extent of the usage of social networking sites (n=2,350).

Figure 2 Observed frequencies of responses to statements about students’ perceptions of the usage of social networking sites for educational purposes (n=2,350).

Figure 3 Most common social networking sites used by students for educational purposes (n=2,350).

Table 1 Differences in perceptions about the usage of social networking sites from the study cohort measured by χ² and normality tests (n=2350)

Statement	Test of independence		Kolmogorov–Smirnov normality test
	χ^2	P-value	Absolute	Positive	Negative	Z	P-value
S1	1,475^a	0*	0.24	0.18	−0.24	11.69	0*
S2	471^a	0*	0.18	0.18	−0.15	8.70	0*
S3	1,874^b	0*	0.31	0.23	−0.31	15.20	0*
S4	296^b	0*	0.17	0.15	−0.17	8.03	0*
S5	275^c	0*	0.18	0.18	−0.13	8.70	0*
S6	244^c	0*	0.15	0.15	−0.15	7.46	0*
S7	2,167^d	0*	0.34	0.34	−0.24	16.29	0*
S8	996^e	0*	0.29	0.29	−0.15	13.84	0*
S9	963^f	0*	0.27	0.27	−0.14	13.27	0*
S10	550^f	0*	0.22	0.22	−0.11	10.85	0*
S11	790^g	0*	0.24	0.24	−0.13	11.78	0*
S12	1,035^h	0*	0.29	0.29	−0.16	13.97	0*
S13	1,076^i	0*	0.28	0.28	−0.18	13.71	0*
S14	656^j	0*	0.25	0.25	−0.12	12.26	0*
S15	902^k	0*	0.27	0.27	−0.15	13.27	0*
S16	964^j	0*	0.28	0.28	−0.16	13.74	0*
S17	208^l	0*	0.20	0.20	−0.14	9.45	0*
S18	830^m	0*	0.28	0.28	−0.14	13.29	0*
S19	828^n	0*	0.27	0.27	−0.13	12.97	0*
S20	476^l	0*	0.22	0.22	−0.14	10.66	0*
S21	195°	0*	0.20	0.14	−0.20	9.61	0*

Notes: Degrees of freedom for all statements 4. No cells had expected frequency <5. Minimum expected cell frequency: ^a469.4; ^b469.6; ^c468.8; ^d468.0; ^e466.4; ^f468.2; ^g463.8; ^h466.2; ⁱ466.6; ^j467.2; ^k466.8; ^l467.4; ^m464.8; ⁿ464.2; ^o463.6. *Indicates the variable is significant at 5% level of significance.

Table 2 Validity and reliability of statements

Factor	Eigenvalues	% of variance	Cronbach’s α	Number of items
SNSs for education	8.66	41.23	0.786	13 (S2–S9, S11–S14, and S16)
Professional development	2.25	10.74	0.839	2 (S10 and S15)
Effectiveness of SNSs for education	1.29	6.15	0.882	3 (S17–S19)
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy 0.94 Bartlett’s test of sphericity (�^2) 29192*

Notes: The remaining 3 statements (S1, S20, and S21) are stand alone and unable to apply this test on these statements. *Indicates the variable is significant at 5% level of significance.

Table 3 Results of Mann–Whitney U tests showing comparison of students’ perceptions about the usage of social networking sites (SNSs) among medical vs nonmedical students (n=2,350)

Factors	Medical		Nonmedical		U	Z	P-value (two-tailed)
	MR	n	MR	n
Friends and family	1,134	1,148	1218	1,202	640,564	−3.18	0*
SNSs for education	1,328	1,148	978	1,202	566,153	−7.03	0*
Professional development	1,298	1,142	1,055	1,202	516,148	−10.60	0*
SNSs useful for education	1,218	1,136	1,123	1,296	581,288	−5.95	0*
Need supervision	1,276	1,136	1,068	1,201	560,722	−7.70	0*
Inappropriate for education	1,117	1,147	1,229	1,201	623,308	−4.16	0*

Notes: Total number of medical and nonmedical students 1,148 and 1,202 respectively. Sample size less fewer in number due to missing values. *Indicates the variable is significant at 5% level of significance.