4 . Methodology
Hany Abdelghaffar and Lobna Sameer
The proposed model was tested to answer the research question of how social networks could support the local government decision making to enhance e‐democracy . A survey method was employed to collect data from citizens . Egypt has been selected for investigation which is considered as a good example of a Arab Spring country where social network such as Facebook and Twitter had great impact on the success of the Egyptian 25th January revolution in 2011 ( Timeline , 2011 ). Moreover , citizens after the revolution have become more active in the political life and share their opinions online .
Prototype
In order to make it easier for citizens to understand how social networks work , a prototype of social network has been created to allow citizens to visualize the social network . The website that has been developed for the demonstration of the suggested social network was created using “ wordpress ” open source Content Management System ( CMS ) and necessary “ plugins ” were added to improve the functionality of the network .
Sample and Instruments design
Since the research investigating the impact of social network on enhancing the e‐democracy , therefore , participants should be able to use computers and the internet . Accordingly , the survey was distributed online to Egyptian internet users to ensure that the respondents have digital literacy .
Only 24 % of Egypt ’ s population ( 19.2 million ) during the time of the study had stable internet access , mostly through internet cafés , internet clubs , or mobile phones ( Arthur , 2011 ). The sample consisted of citizens above eighteen years old as this is the minimum age for voting in Egypt . A total of 150 participants successfully completed the questionnaires which were used in the analysis . Questionnaires were divided into several sections . Each of these sections measured a different variable of the proposed model through Likert scales .
Table 2 : Demographic description of the sample
Demographic data
Characteristics |
Percentage |
|
Less than 18 |
5.3 % |
Age |
18‐30
31‐45
|
70.7 %
17.3 %
|
|
Above 45 |
6.7 % |
Gender |
Male
Female
|
44 %
56 %
|
|
High school |
40.7 % |
Education |
Bachelor
Master
|
44.7 %
10 %
|
|
PhD |
4.7 % |
|
Daily |
92.7 % |
Internet usage |
Weekly |
5.3 % |
|
Rarely |
2 % |
Social network effectiveness in |
Yes |
96.7 % |
communication |
No |
3.3 % |
Political usage of Internet |
Yes
No
|
94 %
6 %
|
|
Participated in both the referendum and elections |
72 % |
Political participation on ground |
Participated in only one of them |
11.3 % |
|
Did not participate at all |
16.7 % |
Respondents ’ demographics profile included information about age , gender , income level and educational levels presented in table ( 1 ). 71 % of the participants were from age 18‐30 . 44 % of respondents were females while 56 % were males . Regarding the internet usage , access , and familiarity with the Internet and social , 92.7 %
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