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Chapter 4 - Social Media Assessments around the Globe

from Part II - Global Perspectives on Key Methods/Topics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2023

By
Hanyi Min  and
Cristina Gonzalez
Edited by
Louis Tay ,
Sang Eun Woo  and
Tara Behrend
Louis Tay
Affiliation:
Purdue University, Indiana
Sang Eun Woo
Affiliation:
Purdue University, Indiana
Tara Behrend
Affiliation:
Purdue University, Indiana
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Summary

Social media is an ever-increasing aspect of the internet presence and daily life. Despite certain challenges in defining the construct, researchers have realized the possibility that social media can allow for the measurement and assessment of a wide variety of variables. Throughout the ever-growing number of social media sites and apps across countries and languages, there is an abundance of formats that researchers can utilize, such as photo, text, location, video, and more. In this book chapter, we conducted a literature search and identified four constructs that are most frequently studied using social media (i.e., personality, emotion/affect/mood, life satisfaction, and political views). We then summarized a list of studies that use social media to investigate these four constructs. Additionally, social media offers unique opportunities for researchers to assess various cross-cultural data, which can present its own challenges. We also provide examples of the potential opportunities and challenges, as well as ethical and technical considerations for researchers to keep in mind.

Keywords

social mediaassessmentsvalidity
Type
Chapter
Information
Technology and Measurement around the Globe , pp. 131 - 156
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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