Validity Issues in the Use of Social Network Analysis with Digital Trace Data

TLDR

Social network analysis methods align with the rise of digital trace data from online interactions, yet these data differ substantively from traditional survey data, raising validity concerns. The study aims to examine ten validity issues arising from combining digital trace data with social network analysis and to offer recommendations. The authors analyze ten validity issues using examples from information systems literature to develop guidance for future research.

Abstract

There is an exciting natural match between social network analysis methods and the growth of data sources produced by social interactions via information technologies, from online communities to corporate information systems. Information Systems researchers have not been slow to embrace this combination of method and data. Such systems increasingly provide “digital trace data” that provide new research opportunities. Yet digital trace data are substantively different from the survey and interview data for which network analysis measures and interpretations were originally developed. This paper examines 10 validity issues associated with the combination of digital trace data and social network analysis methods, with examples from the IS literature, to provide recommendations for improving the validity of future research.