Detectable differences or functional equivalents? Assessing the reliability and validity of two measures of online network diversity

ABSTRACT

Political communication researchers commonly use one of two strategies to measure online network diversity: a “subjective” approach tapping participants’ impressions of the diversity in their networks, or a “structural” approach that asks about the socioeconomic position of individuals within their networks. While these measures are largely treated as functional equivalents in research about information technology and politics, we demonstrate that the two measures are only moderately correlated, and there are systematic differences in the reliability and validity of the two measures. We conclude that the structural measure is the better choice for most studies, although the subjective measure may be more appropriate in some cases.

KEYWORDS:

• Online network diversity
• social media
• political communication
• methods and measures
• measurement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data supporting this manuscript will be made available at the following pre-reserved location upon publication, “Detectable Differences Datasets,” Mendeley Data, V1, http://doi.org/10.17632/258fjjftv4.1

Notes

1. Information about questionnaire wording and the procedures used for scale construction is available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Matthew Barnidge

Matthew Barnidge (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism & Creative Media at the University of Alabama. His research specializes in political communication and news audiences on digital media platforms in multiple national contexts.

Michael A. Xenos

Michael A Xenos (Ph.D., University of Washington) is a professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication and in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His primary research focus is on the extent to which the Internet and social media may help individuals learn about political issues, form opinions, and participate in politics.

Cynthia Peacock

Cynthia Peacock (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Alabama. Her research focuses on the ways people form, change, and express their political opinions.