Quantifying Information Dissemination: Structured Review on Methods and Variables for Sharing Behavior on Social Network Sites

Abstract

The dissemination of misinformation on Social Network Sites (SNS) and the consequent emergence of radicalizing narratives present an increasingly societal problem. Empirically founded models on individual behavior of information dissemination in SNS are therefore necessary to improve our understanding of influential variables. The objective of the present research was to identify relevant variables and to provide an overview of how current research addresses the complex issue of information dissemination decision-making on SNS. To this end, we conducted a PRISMA-based structured literature review focused on variables and experimental designs used in the exploration of individuals' decision-making processes to share information on SNS. A special focus was on the usage of experimental tools that can be used for the simulation of SNS or a scenario based research approach, respectively. For our analysis we extracted 5195 articles published between 1990 and 20203, from four databases (Web of Science, PubMed, PsychInfo, Scopus) and selected them based on strict exclusion criteria like the mandatory use of empirical methods and the necessity of experimental manipulation. Those articles were reduced to 18 papers from which we extracted used variables, experimental design and the employed tools. We discuss constructs related to dissemination of false or misleading information on SNS and how they have been operationalized from previous research utilizing field theory to structure the present review.

Keywords: SNS, Social Media, PRISMA, Misinformation, Field Theory

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004858