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Spring2011GlobalMediaJournalVolume11,Issue18ArticleNo5Theeffectsofsocialnetworkingsitesontheacquisitionofsocialcapitalamongcollegestudents:ApilotstudyGeorgeKonetesMatthewMcKeagueIndianaUniversityofPennsylvaniaKeywordssocialnetworking,socialcapital,networks,actors,structuralagents,SNS.AbstractThispilotstudyaimsspecificallytoexplorewhetherornotuniversitysocialnetworkingsite(SNS)usersaremakingnetworkingdecisionstofurthertheirsocialcapitalortocreatemorebalancednetworksbymakingdecisionsbasedoncommontraitsandinterests.ThisstudycentersonthehypothesisthatgraduatestudentuseSNSmoretoacquiresocialcapitalthanundergraduatesandthatundergraduatestudentsuseSNStoformbalancedsocialnetworksbasedoncommonaltiesmoresothangraduatestudents.Differencesareexpectedbasedoffofdemographicandpsychographicvariationsbetweenundergraduateandgraduatestudents.Fortheinvestigation,anonlinesurveywassentoutviauniversityemailtoundergraduateandgraduatestudentsinquiringastotheirbasicdemographics,SNSuseanddeliveringasocialcapitalandcommonalitiesinstrument.Despitedirectionalityinthedata,nosignificantdifferenceswerefoundbetweenundergraduateandgraduatestudentnetworkingdecisionsintermsofsocialcapitalandcommoninterestacquisitionhabits.Howeverthesocialcapitalinstrumentwasfoundtohaveahighdegreeofreliabilityandpotentialforfurtheruse.IntroductionGoaloftheStudyAscollegestudentshavebeenfoundtoutilizesocialnetworkingsitesoverninetimesmorethantheaveragepopulation(Raacke&Bonds-Raacke,2008),thisstudywaspromptedtoexaminevarioussocialaspectsofthathighdegreeofuse.ThegoalofthispilotstudyistodeterminehowstudentsareusingSNSintermsofadvancingsocialcapitalandfurtheringcommoninterests.Thisinvestigationisdesignedtotestaresearchmethodologyandtwoinstrumentsmeasuringwhetherornotnetworkingdecisionsaremadeinordertoobtainsocialcapitalortoachievemorebalancednetworksviaseekingcommonalities.ThecriticalfocusiscenteredupontheconceptofsocialcapitalacquisitionhabitsmeasuredthroughSNSwithsocialbalancetheoryactingasananalyticallenstoclassifyvarioussocietaleffects.Thisstudytargetscollegestudentsbothgraduateandundergraduatesinanattempttobettergaugethedifferencesandsimilaritiesoftheirnetworkinghabitswithinthetheoreticalframeworkdefined.Bothofthesestudentpopulationshavebeenincludedbasedoffofprevioussocialnetworkingstudiesshowingthattheproportionofundergraduatesversusgraduatesinhighereducationisunequal(Gross&Acquisti,2005).Whileundergraduatestudentsaretypicallycomingoutofhighschool,graduatestudentsarereturningtoaneducationalenvironmentforreasonsrangingfromhigherwages(AAUWFoundation,1999)tothechangingjobmarket(Bishop,&Spake,2003).ThesedifferencesindemographicsandpsychographicshaveledtheresearcherstobelievethatgraduatestudentswilluseSNSformorepracticalpurposesrelatedtoacquiringsocialcapital,whileundergraduatesuseSNSformoreofthesocialaspectofcommunicatingwithfriendsbasedonsharedinterestsandcommonalities.1 KonetesandMcKeagueSocialNetworkingSitesGMJDefinitionofTermsThefollowingtermsaredefinedtounifytheconceptsandresearchpresentedhereafter.Socialnetworkingsites.ReferredtoasSNS,theyareonlinevirtualspaceswherepeopleofrelatedinterestsgathertogethertoshareideas,havediscussionsandfurtherthepoolofindividualsfromwhomtheyhaveaccesstocommunicatewith(Raacke&Bonds-Raacke,2008).BalanceTheory.AsocialpsychologicaltheorydevelopedbyHeider(1946)whichstatesthatindividualsgenerallyseekrelationshipsthatarebalancedintermsofsharedpositiverelationshipsandattitudes,aswellassharednegativeattitudes.Whereinessence,peoplewithcommonlikesanddislikestendtogrouptogetherandformsocialbonds(Robins&Kashima,2008).SocialCapital.Referstothegeneralbenefitsonereceivesfromtheirownsocialrelationshipsthatcanbemanifestedintermsofemotionalwellbeing,physicalcomfort,academicandprofessionaladvantages,aswellasoverarching,lesspersonalindirecteffects,suchasimprovedpublichealthandreducedcrimerates(Steinfield,Ellison,&Lampe,2008).SignificanceoftheProblemInformationgarneredfromthisinvestigationwillprovideinsightconcerningsocialbehaviorsinthequicklydevelopingfieldofonlinesocialnetworking.Inlearningmoreabouttherelationshipofsocialcapitalandbalancetheorytonetworkinghabits,informationisgainedthatmayleadtoadeeperunderstandingoftheimpactofthepervasiveuseofSNSonsocietyandbehavior.IngeneralthisstudyappliesbalancetheoryandsocialcapitaltobetterunderstandwhyandhowstudentsareusingSNSfromaperspectivethatmaybetransferabletootherpopulations.Gainingdeeperknowledgeinthisspecificareamayhelpexplainsomeofthepracticesofthecollegepopulationwhichusesonlinesocialnetworkingsitesoverninetimesmorethantheworldaverage(Raacke&Bonds-Raacke,2008).Individualsbetween18and24yearsoldreportspendingmoretimewithnewmediathanwatchingtelevision(Broeck,Pierson,&Lievens,2007)asitcanbecomeapartofastableroutineandever-presentonlinecommunity(Taylor&Harper,2003;Boyns&Stephenson,2003).Interactingandformingonlinefriendshipsischangingthewaysinwhichhumanscommunicate.ContextualBackgroundLiteratureSynthesisoftheLiteratureTheuseofSNShasbeenfoundtohavepositiveeffectswiththedevelopmentofpersonalidentity,self-esteemandsocialcapital.Socialnetworkingsitesarebeingusedasaplacetobuildpersonalidentity,self-esteemandsocialcapital,howeveralongwiththebenefitsofthesesitescomenewconcerns,issuesandanomalies.SNShavebecomestaginggroundstotestandimplementpersonalidentityamongyouthwhodesireasafezonewheretheycanexperimentfreefromthescrutinyofauthorityfigures.Anincreasedlevelofself-esteem,especiallyamonguserswithpoorself-esteem,isalsoatrendthatisstemmingfromincreaseduseofFacebookandothersites.Inaddition,thedevelopmentofsocialcapitalseemstobemoreheavilyreliantuponsmallnetworkclusters,whicharejustasprevalentofflineasonline,revealingthatSNSareonlyofsmallvalueforbuildingsocialcapital.BodyoftheLiteraturePersonalidentitydevelopmentandprojectionisatrendthatSNSarehelpingtofacilitateinnewways,andwithitcomesuniquesocialissuesandconcerns.Affinityforself-presentationisoftenamarkofadolescence,andSNSusehasmadeitpossibleforone’sowndisplayofpersonalitytoreachalargeraudiencethanpreviousgenerations(Livingstone,2008).HighschoolandcollegestudentsareusingSNSasameanstodisplaytheirownpersonalidentitiestotheworld(Boyd,2007).Howeverinadditiontoprojectingidentity,SNSarebeingusedasaprovinggroundtotryoutvariousidentitiesandtosiftthroughculturalandcontextualcues(Greenhow,etal.,2009).StudentsareusingFacebookandotherchannelstodeveloptheiridentities,2 Spring2011GlobalMediaJournalVolume11,Issue18beliefsandstancesonvariousissuessuchaspolitics,religion,andwork,aswellastopioneeranddevelopintimaterelationships(Pempek,Yermolayeva,&Calvert,2009).TheseSNSarebeingusedforvariousreasons,oneofwhichisbecausetheyofferatypeofsafezonewheretheirchoicesandformsofself-expressiondonotfallunderthescrutinyofparents,teachersandunwittingpeers(Greenhow,etal.,2009).Andthoughmuchofthisbehaviorisconsideredsomewhatnatural,variousfactorssuchasunseenaudiencesarealteringsocialdynamicsandcreatingcomplicationsinpersonalinteractionsoffline(Boyd,2007).Self-esteem,personalvalidationandvaluearepositivelyaffectedbytheuseofFacebookformanyusers,especiallythosewhohavealowselfworth.AmongSNS,theuseofFacebookinparticularhasbeenfoundtoincreaseuserssenseofpersonalbelongingamongcollegestudents.Also,thissenseofbelonginghasinandofitselfbeenpositivelycorrelatedwithacademicperformance(Greenhow,Robelia,&Hughes,2009).Thiseffectisseenbothfromincreasedpersonalself-esteemaswellasincreasingthesocialcapitalofeachstudent(Steinfield,etal.,2008).Howevertheuserswhobenefitedthemostintermsofself-esteemasaresultofusingFacebookwerethosewhohadlowselfesteempriortousingSNS(Ellison,etal.,2007).Userswithhighself-esteemsawlittlebenefitfromFacebookuse,butthosewhohadlowself-esteembenefitedmuchmore.OneexplanationforthiseffectisthatSNShelpreducebarriersthatmayhinderstudentswithlowerselfesteemfromnetworking(Steinfield,etal.,2008).Offlinefeedbackfromnetworkedassociatesisconsideredofvalueandcomfortduetothenatureandrelationshipsassociatedwiththeinformation(Wellman,2007).FeedbackandcommentsobtainedfromnetworkedfriendsonFacebookseemtohaveasimilareffectofself-validationdespitethevalueofthecommentsortherelationshipwiththatparticularposting.Thisanomalypointstowardemotionalandidentitydevelopmentbasedupontheviewsandperceptionscontainedinthefeedbackofothers.ThoughthisconceptisnotlimitedtoSNS,itisnotablethatwhenonline,thesourceofthefeedbackbecomeslessvaluablethanthefeedbackitself(Pempek,etal.,2009).Despitetheincreaseduseofsocialnetworkingsites,smallercommunalcircleswhichoftenformusingtheprinciplesofbalancetheory,areresponsibleforthemajorityofaddedvalueandsocialcapital.Smallsocialnetworkshavestoodandcontinuetostandasthefoundationofsocialnetworkingintermsofindividualsthataretrustworthy,helpfulandaddvaluetoone’sownlife(Wellman,2007).EvenwiththeadventoflargescaleSNS,smallerclustersareemergingfromthelargenetworksofcollegestudents,asstudentsspendasignificantamountoftheirSNStimenetworkingwithclosefriendsandassociates(Ellison,etal.,2007).AccordingtoSteinfield,Ellison,&Lampe(2008)manycollegestudentsdouseFacebooktogeneratesocialcapitalbymaintainingrelationshipswithindividualsthatwouldfadeawaywithoutthehelpofSNS,howeveraccordingtoWellman(2007)thegreatestvaluecomesfromafewclosefriendsthatwouldremaincloseregardlessofSNSuse.Thesefewcloseconnectionsareusuallymadeupofindividualswithhomogeneouskeyattributesthatsubsequentlyendearthemtotheirfriends(Faiers,Cook,&Neame,2007).Smallclustersofnetworkconnectionsbegintoformaroundcommonideals,attitudesandbeliefswherepeoplefeelsecuregoingtooneanotherforadvice,counselandcomfort(Goodreau,Kitts,&Morris,2008).Theseconnectionsresultinnetworkrelationshipsthatmodelbalancetheory,asthecommonpositiveconnectionscreatehigherlevelsofnetworkstabilityandlowerlevelsofsocialdissonance(Faiers,etal.,2007;Levitan&Visser,2009).TheoreticalFrameworkThemajortheoreticalconceptdrivingthisstudyistheapplicationofsocialbalancetheorytocollegedemographics'onlinesocialnetworkinghabits.Accordingtosocialbalancetheory,individualsmakenetworkingdecisionsbaseduponcommontraitsandinterestsinordertoformnetworkedgroupsthattendtobemorecomfortableandhomogeneousinvariousways(Robins&Kashima,2008).ThemajorhypothesisofthisstudystatesthatgraduatestudentuseSNSmoretoacquiresocialcapitalthanundergraduatesandthatundergraduatestudentsuseSNStoformbalancedsocialnetworksbasedoncommonaltiesmoresothangraduatestudents.This3 KonetesandMcKeagueSocialNetworkingSitesGMJdeviationishypothesizedtostemfromadevelopingdesiretoincreaseone'ssocialcapitalwhichisexperiencedasstudentsmatureandbecomemoreawareofthevalueofhavingnetworkcontactswhichmayofferprofessionaloracademicbenefits.UndergraduatestudentsarealsolikelytohavehadmoreexposuretoSNSgrowingupandhavehadmoreexperiencesregardingidentityandsocialdevelopment(Greenhow,etal.,2009)causingthemtoviewSNSasacommonsocialoutletwhilegraduatestudentsmaybeusingthesiteswithamorespecificintentforvalueaddingnetworkingdecisions.Inordertotestthishypothesisacomparativeanalysisapproachwasadoptedwhichcomparesgraduatestoundergraduatesusingacommonalitiesinstrumentandasocialcapitalinstrument.Thistechniqueisdesignedtodiscerniftherearedifferencesbetweenthetwogroupsconcerningthetwocreatedinstrumentsandultimatelyevaluatethisconceptualapplicationofsocialbalancetheoryandsocialcapitalacquisition.CritiqueoftheLiteratureThoughmuchresearchhasbeendoneconcerningeachprimaryaspectofthisstudyincludingcommonalities,socialcapital,balancetheoryandsocialnetworkingsites,noresearchcouldbefoundthattiestheareastogether.Withinthecurrentliteraturebasethereisalsoadeficitofquantitativeinvestigations.ThefieldofsocialnetworkingandthetheoriesinvolveddatebacktobeforeHeider's(1946)workconcerningsocialbalancetheory,however,therapidifnotoverwhelmingdevelopmentofonlinesocialnetworkinghasoutpacedresearcheffortsinvariousareasduetothemagnitudeofpotentialnetworksandsubjectsavailable.Thisstudyseekstoaddtotheconceptualvoidintheliteratureandpioneerintothequantitativeaspectsinordertoencourageadditionalresearchinthisarea.MethodsSamplingInordertotesttheresearchhypothesis,500undergraduateandgraduatestudentsweresurveyedandgiventhesocialcapitalandsocialcommonalitiesinstrumentsdesignedtoascertainthedegreetowhichtheycreatenewnetworktiesonSNStofurthertheirsocialcapitalandthedegreetowhichtheymakenetworktiestoobtainmorebalancednetworksbasedonreinforcingtheirowncommoninterestsordisinterests.ThesurveywasengineeredtoprovidequantitativedataandwasadministeredtoarandomlyselectedsampleofstudentsattheIndianaUniversityofPennsylvania(IUP)viauniversityemailusingQualtricsresearchsoftware.Qualtricsisanonlinebasedsoftwareapplicationwherevarioustypesofsurveyinstrumentscanbedevelopedandpretestedbeforebeingdistributedthroughindividualizedlinkedviatheuniversityemailsystem.IUPisauniversityinwesternPennsylvaniawithapproximately14,000students,ofwhich2,380arepostgraduate.Thisuniversitydrawsstudentswithdiversedemographicsfromacrossthetri-statearea,providingadesirablemixofsubjectsthatshouldyieldtransferableresults.Thesamplewasstratifiedtobecomprisedofapproximatedone-thirdgraduatestudents(167),andtwo-thirdsundergraduates(333).UponuniversityInstitutionalReviewBoardapproval,theAppliedResearchLab(ARL)oncampusprovidedtherandomstratifiedsamplefromtheirdatabasecontainingthemasteremaillistofthestudentbody.Theundergraduateandgraduatestudentswereproportionallyselectedinordertomaximizeundergraduateresponsessincetheyoutnumbergraduatestudentsnearly5to1,butalsotoreturnenoughresponsesfromgraduatestudentstoprovidesufficientdataforanalysiscomparingandcontrastingthetwogroups.InstrumentToaddressthehypothesis,thesurveyinstrumentconsistedof10Likert-scaleitemsthatareavailableinAppendixA.Theseitemsrequiredparticipantstorateaseriesofcharacteristics'influenceonwhetherornottheywouldaddanewfriendorcontacttotheirsocialnetworkingmainpage.Itemsincludeddemographicalattributessuchascurrentjoboreducationlevelaswellaspotentiallybeneficialqualitiessuchasperceivedadviceorskillsofaprospectivenewfriend.Eachoftheseitemswereona4-pointscalefromStronglyInfluencestoDoesNotInfluence.TheresearchersusedLikertscalesinordertoinvestigatesocialcapitalbecausesuch4 Spring2011GlobalMediaJournalVolume11,Issue18aresearchtoolisaneffectivemeanstoobtainpreciseinformationonbeliefs,opinions,attitudes,andvaluesofagroup(Berger,2000;Vogt,2007).Aforced,non-neutralresponsewasselectedtopreventrespondentsfromselectingsafeoptionswhendealingwithpotentiallysensitiveissuesofinfluencesofaddinganewcontact(Lodico,Spaulding,&Voegtle,2006).InaccordancewiththeassessmentofGoodreau,Kitts,&Morris(2008)whichdescribesgroupingaroundsharedattributeswithintheframeworkofbalancetheory,itemswereselectedforthecommonalitiesinstrumentthatcorrelatedwithvisibleattributesdisplayedontheprimarySNSofthedaysuchasFacebook.ThesocialcapitalinstrumentwasdevelopedbydrawingfromconceptsdiscussedbySteinfield,Ellison,&Lampe(2008)concerningpotentialadvantagesthatthesubjectmayhopetoacquirethroughtheformationofanetworkconnection.TheinstrumentitemswerecreatedwitheitherdirecttiestovisibleitemsdisplayedonthecurrentincarnationsoftheprimarySNSsitesatthetimeofthestudyorwithindirecttieswhichcouldbeinferredbaseduponitemsthatwerevisiblydisplayed.DataCollectionSubjectsreceivedanemailwithaninformedconsentstatementandalinktotheonlinesurveyhostedbyIUP’sQualtricsservice.Studentswhofailedtorespondtotheemailwereautomaticallysentareminderemailcontainingthesameinformationwiththeadditionofalineoftextremindingthemtocompletethesurvey.Atotalofthreereminderemailsweresentoutduringtheonemonthdatacollectionwindowinordertomaximizestudentresponses.Subjectswerethenaskedtoprovidesimpleandbriefdemographicinformationsuchassex,age,andstudentstatus.SubjectswereaskediftheyuseSNSandifstudentsidentifythattheydonotuseonlinesocialnetworkingsitesinanycapacitythenthesurveywasimmediatelyterminatedatthatpoint.Followingthesepreliminaryquestionstheprimaryinstrumentwasdeliveredbeingcomprisedoftwoseparateinstrumentswhichwereblendedtogetherandthenseparatedoutagainoncethedatahadbeencollected.Thismeasureconsistedofaseriesofquestionsaskingsubjectstorankhowcertainfactorsimpacttheirdecisionstonetworkwithotherindividuals.Oneinstrumentattemptedtogaugehowcommonalitiesinfluencednetworkdecisionsandtheotherattemptedtogaugehowsocialcapitalinfluencednetworkingdecisions.Eachsurveyresponsewastheninstantlyandautomaticallydownloadedtoasecuredatabaseforanalysis.TheQualtricssoftwareprotectstheidentityofallrespondentsmakingitimpossibletodeterminewhorespondedorwhatdatatheyprovided.Inadditiontoprotectionofconfidentiality,therewerenosignificantethicalorsafetyissuestobedealtwith.Dissatisfactionwithcomingtotherealizationofone’stimespentusingSNSorreasonsformakingnetworkcontactswastheonlysignificantconcernidentified.DataAnalysesTherewasa13.4%responseratefromthe500studentssurveyedtotaling67subjectswhostartedthesurvey.Ofthese,50totalsubjectsreportedusingonlinesocialnetworksandcompletedtheentireinstrument.Oftherespondents73%wereundergraduatestudentsand27%weregraduatestudents.Ofthetwoinstrumentsusedtogaugesocialcapitalandcommonalities,thesocialcapitalmeasurewasfoundtohavesignificantinternalreliabilitywithaChronbach’sAlphaofα=.858.Table1SocialCapitalandCommonalitiesMeansSocialCapitalMeanCommonalitiesMeanUndergraduate2.61472.5855Graduate2.56882.6719Thecommonalitiesinstrument,whichwasdesignedtomeasuretheapplicationofbalancetheorywasnotshowntohavesignificantreliabilityandaftersinglingoutthestrongestavailablequestionsofthemeasureaninterclasscorrelationof.423wasfound.Inmeasuringtheinfluence5 KonetesandMcKeagueSocialNetworkingSitesGMJofmakingnetworkconnectionsbasedonfurtheringsocialcapital,undergraduatesreturnedameanscoreof2.6147whilegraduatestudentsreturnedameanscoreof2.5688,asshowninTable1.Alowervalueconstitutesgreaterimportanceplacedonsocialcapital,howevernosignificantdifferencewasfoundbetweengraduateandundergraduatestudents.Inmeasuringcommonalities,undergraduatesreturnedameanof2.5855andgraduatestudentsreturnedameanof2.6719.Alowervalueindicatesgreaterimportanceplacedoncommonalities,howeveragainnosignificantdifferencewasfoundbetweengraduateandundergraduatestudents.Despitetherebeingnosignificantdifferencesdetermined,directionalitywhichindicatesapotentialtrendthatisnotstatisticallysignificant,wasfoundinfavorofbothaspectsofthehypothesis.Additionallynosignificantresultswerefoundconcerningvariouspermutationsoftheancillarydataobtainedinregardstothesocialcapitalorcommonaltiesinstruments.LimitationsoftheStudyThelimitationsofthestudyincludesmallsamplesizeandalimitedscope.Asmallsampleisdueinparttothisbeinganpilotstudy,howeverdespitethesize,thestratifiedrandomsampleandclear-cutsurveymethodsaddameasureofvaliditytothedata.ItshouldalsobenotedthatatthetimeofthisstudythesamplinglimitimposedbytheARLwas500totalstudentsandthislimitwasthenumberused.Theresponseratesexperiencedinthisstudyarealsonota-typicalforthisuniversitypopulationwhenincentiveswerenotoffered,thusthelackofresourcesavailabletoprovideincentivesfunctionsasanadditionallimitationwhichmayhaveimpactedthesamplesize.Thenarrowscopeofthisstudyispurposiveinordertofocusonspecificaspectssurroundingsocialcapitalacquisition.Thoughthisdoeslimittheabilitytocompareresultswithotherstudies,thereisalsogeneralinformationgatheredthatisofabroaderscopeandcanbeevaluatedwithinthecontextofthecurrentliterature.Thereisnotagreatdealofresearchfromwhichtodrawonintheareaofsocialcapitalacquisitionamongonlinesocialnetworks,asitisasomewhatuniqueconceptinafieldthatisrapidlydeveloping.DiscussionOutcomesThisstudyhaslaidthegroundworkforalargerscaleinvestigationbydemonstratingthatthehypothesisisviableandmoresignificantlybydevelopingandvalidatingthesocialcapitalinstrument.Consideringthemajorlimitationofsamplesizewhichwasfurtherbrokendownintothegraduateandundergraduategroups,itisnotsurprisingthattheresultswerenotfoundtobesignificant.Thislimitationalsoinhibitscomparativeresultswithsimilarstudiesmeasuringsocialcapitalandcommonalities.Therearehowevernumerousstudiesfromtheliterature,(Steinfield,etal.,2008),whichdiscussedemotionalandaffectivesocialbehaviorinhighschoolandcollegestudentsSNSpracticesthatwouldtendtocoincidewiththedirectionalityindicatedinthedataofthedemographics'networkingpractices.Thereisdifficultyindrawingconclusionsfromthesecoincidentalaspectswithouthavingsignificantfindings.Theliteraturealsopointstowardsthesocialcapitalacquisitionbasedhabitsofadultsintheirnetworkingpracticeswhichdoesseemtobesupportedbythedirectionalitiesofthedatahoweveragainwithoutasignificantfindingnofirmstatementscanbemadeconcerningthisphenomenon.Thoughthesedirectionalityfindingsinthedataarenotstatisticallysignificant,theydoaddameasurecredibilitythatsuggestthehypothesismaystillbefeasible.Oneofthemostvaluableresultsofthispilotstudyisthevalidationofthesocialcapitalinstrument.WithasignificantChronbach’sAlphaofα=.858,thisscaleisusefulforfurtherresearchandtestinginthefield,(seeAppendixAforcompleteinstrument).Eventhoughthecommonalitiesinstrumentdidnotprovesignificantintermsofreliability,valuableinformationwasobtainedwhichmaypermitapurposefulredesignoftheinstrumentforfutureresearch.Althoughthedataobtainedfrombothoftheseinstrumentsdidnotprovesignificant,themeanofthedatafrombothmeasuresdidsupportthehypothesiswhichagainaddscredibilityandfeasibilitytotheinstrumentsandtheoreticalfoundation.Withadditionalresearchandtestingthe6 Spring2011GlobalMediaJournalVolume11,Issue18instrumentsmaybeimprovedtobettermeasuretheintendedphenomena.LessonsforFutureResearchInconsideringapplicationsforfutureresearchalongthelinesifthisstudy,itmaybeconceivabletoduplicatethismethodologyandtheoreticalconstructswiththefollowingrefinements:Ifthemajorlimitationofsamplesizeweretobealleviatedandamorereliablecommonalitiesinstrumentconstructedthenthisstudymayberepeatedtoyieldmoreinsightfulandvaluableresults.Collectinganequalorrepresentativeproportionofundergraduateandgraduatestudentsmayalsobehelpfulastheproportionalselectionfactormaynotbenecessaryinstudyingtheintendedtraits.Thecommonalitiesinstrumentcouldberefinedbytakingastepbackwardandconductingasmallopenendedsurveyfocusedonaskingthesubjectswhichqualitiesandcommontraitstheyfindvaluableinselectinganewnetworkcontact.Thetraitsdiscoveredbythesurveycouldthenbecrossreferencedwiththosedetailedinathoroughliteraturereviewspecificallysearchingforthosetypesoftraits.Thisapproachwouldactasanadditionalvaliditycheckaswellasprovidealistofrelevanttraitsthatarecurrentlyonsubjects'mindswithinthetargetpopulation.Thesetraitscouldthenbegroupedandtestedforreliabilityasaninstrument.Apotentialimprovementforfuturemethodologiesintermsofresponseratesmaybetoalterthesurveydistributionmethodinordertoincludenon-materialincentives.Amethodtoaccomplishthischangeindistributioninordertooffertheseincentivesmaybetodeliverthesurveythroughindividualcourseinstructorswhocouldthenofferbonuspointstoparticipantsortoenterparticipantsintoadrawingforaprize.Thismayservetocomplicatedistributionandinstrumentcodingprocedures,thoughitmaygreatlyincreaseresponseratesandenabletheresearcherstobettertargetthedesiredsamplepopulation.Thelinktotheinstrumentbeingdeliveredbytheinstructormayinitselfprovideahigherdegreeofresponsewithoutincentivesduetoaspectsoffamiliarityandauthoritywithintheteachertostudentrelationship.AcknowledgementsTheauthorsaregratefulfortheparticipationoftherespondentsaswellasthedetailedcommentsprovidedbythefacultyadvisorJamesLenze,proofreaderMs.JenniferTissue,consultantonresearchmethodsanddataanalysisMr.BenjaminJarrett,journaleditor,andanonymousreviewer.ReferencesAckland,R.(2009).Socialnetworkservicesasdatasourcesandplatformsfore-researchingsocialnetworks.SocialScienceComputerReview,2009,1-12.AmericanAssociationofUniversityWomen.(1999).Gainingafoothold:Women’stransitionsthroughworkandcollege.Washington,DC:AAUWFoundation.Berger,A.(2000).MediaandCommunicationResearchMethods:AnIntroductiontoQualitativeandQuantitativeApproaches.ThousandOakCA:Sage.Bishop,J.S.,Spake,D.F.(2003)Distanceeducation:Abibliographicreviewforeducationalplannersandpolicymakers1992-2002.JournalofPlanningLiterature,17,372-391.Boyd,D.(2007).Whyyouthsocialnetworksites:Theroleofnetworkedpublicsinteenagesociallife.TheJohnD.andCatherineT.MacArthurFoundationSeriesonDigitalMediaandLearning,119-142.Boyns,D.,&StephensonD.(2003).Understandingtelevisionwithouttelevision:Astudyofsuspendedtelevisionviewing.JournalofMundaneBehavior,4(1).7 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KonetesandMcKeagueSocialNetworkingSitesGMJAppendixA.SocialCapitalInstrumentWhenconsideringwhetherornottoaddanewfriend/contactwhomyoudoNOTknowofflineverywell,Howdothefollowingthingsinfluenceyourdecision?StronglySomewhatDoesNotInfluencesInfluencesInfluencesInfluenceTheircurrentjobTheircareergoalsTheirlevelofeducation(i.e.highschool,bachelors,masters,etc...)TheyhaveknowledgeorskillsthatyouconsidervaluableYoufeeltheycouldgiveyougoodadviceorcouncilaboutsomethingatsomepointTheyhavefriendsthatyouwouldliketocommunicatewithatsomepointTheyareinajoborpositionthatcouldbenefityouatsomepointTheyhaveprofessionalassociationsthatyouconsidervaluableYourrelationshipwiththemcouldbemutuallybeneficialTheyhaveinfluenceinsocialgroupsoractivitiesyouconsidervaluable10 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