Abstract

The aim of this research is to investigate the validity and reliability of “Facebook Connection Strategies Scale” (FCSS) which is developed by Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe (2011). The research group of this study includes 669 university students who are also Facebook users. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is conducted to determine the FCSS’s factorial structure. By applying the principal components factor analysis using Varimax rotation method, one of 13 items of the scale that is loaded on more than one factor is removed. To determine the discriminant validity of FCSS, item-total correlations and 27% top and bottom group comparisons are made. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is conducted to describe the factor structure of the original form. CFA suggests acceptable fit values for the model. In this research, the FCSS’s reliability is investigated through internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficient methods. The internal consistency coefficients for the subscales are as follows: 0.82 for information search, 0.89 for maintenance, and 0.80 for initialization. According to the analyses, the Turkish version of the scale is found to be valid and reliable.

Key words: Facebook Connection Strategies Scale, Scale Adaptation, Social Network