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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