Development and psychometric properties of the Social Network Sites Engagement Scale (SNSES)

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable tool for measuring the level of peoplechr('39')s participation in social network sites (SNS). Method: This research is in the R&D field in terms of purpose and is descriptive-survey type in terms of data collection method (research design). 979 students were selected out of all students studying in the University of Guilan in 2017-2018 using multi-stage random cluster sampling. A set of questions, after confirming their face validity, was given to the participants and all collected data was analyzed through heuristic method (based on data from 400 precipitants) and then by confirmatory method (using data from 579 participants) to determine the construct validity of the developing test. Results: A scale containing 34 items was developed and the items were distributed among the three factors of "emotion / cognition exchange" (20 items), "engagement intensity" (7 items) and "culture exchange" (7 items). Taken together, these three factors accounted for 46.73% of the total variance of the questionnaire. Based on the results of the reliability analysis (internal consistency), the coefficients obtained for the factors were between 0.81 and 0.90, among which emotion / cognition exchange had the highest coefficient of internal consistency index, followed by cultural exchange and engagement intensity, respectively.; The overall internal consistency of the questionnaire was 0.92. Conclusion: The Social Network Sites Engagement Scale (SNSES) has acceptable validity and reliability for measuring the level of participation in social network sites.