Ties, Structures, and Effects within an Anonymous Community

165 Pages·2014·6.46 MB·English

by  Daric P. Thorne

Eastern Michigan University
DigitalCommons@EMU
Master's Theses, and Doctoral Dissertations, and
Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations
Graduate Capstone Projects
11-7-2013
Latent networks: Ties, structures, and effects within
an anonymous community
Daric P. Thorne
Follow this and additional works at:http://commons.emich.edu/theses
Part of theSociology Commons
Recommended Citation
Thorne, Daric P., "Latent networks: Ties, structures, and effects within an anonymous community" (2013).Master's Theses and
Doctoral Dissertations. 552.
http://commons.emich.edu/theses/552
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Latent Networks: Ties, Structures, and Effects within an Anonymous Community
by
Daric P. Thorne

Thesis
Submitted to the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology
Eastern Michigan University
In partial fulfillment of requirements

for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
in
SOCIOLOGY

Thesis Committee:
Dr. Robert Orrange
Dr. Solange Simoes

November 7, 2013
Ypsilanti, MI
Dedication
To Rhonda and Mark, who encouraged me throughout my education and taught me that I
could pursue my dreams to their end. You have always given me the best you had to offer, and
your support has encouraged me to grow.
To Richard, who taught me the value of critical thinking and a skeptical mind. Sometimes
you let me walk into a trap, but you taught me the lessons I needed to walk back out.
To Juanita, who has supported me during every step of this process. Sometimes listening,
sometimes giving me a critical suggestion – without you, some of this may have never been
completed. Our homes are sometimes separate, but you are never far from me in spirit.
To Daniel and Garrett, who challenged me on important matters, and served as a
sounding board when I wanted to see what would stick to the wall. You often told me what I
needed to hear, but also what I didn’t always want to hear - never to discourage, always to
improve.
To Lisa, Megan, Ben and Amie, who listened to me, encouraged me, and engaged me
when I needed another set of ears. Each of you has engaged me on academic matters, allowed me
to work with you to expand my own skills, and helped maintain my toolset. I am better off
having known you.
Finally, to Devon, who always had the time for fun. Game night, the occasional drink,
conspiracy theory and idle conversation – there was always an opportunity to decompress and let
loose long enough to stay sane.
This work is as reflective of what I have gained from you as it is a product of the
dedication and work I have put into it. My sincere thanks, always.

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Acknowledgements
I would like to take a moment and acknowledge, first and foremost, my committee chairs
– Dr. Robert Orrange and Dr. Solange Simoes. They opened their offices to me, pored over my
work to offer great critiques, and have pushed me towards completion from start to finish. Also
within the Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology department, I would like to thank Dr.
Kristine Ajrouch for engaging me in a great conversation regarding my thinking, Dr. Trisha
McTague for helping to expand my analytic toolbox, and Dr. Peter Wood for never letting me
take the easy way out.
From my undergraduate institution, Dr. Heather Laube and Dr. Roy C. Barnes are
thanked for helping me foster my fascination with sociology. Dr. Barnes introduced me to
network methods, and Dr. Laube always engaged me in conversations about virtual
communities. Both were always willing to let share my thoughts and taught me how to become a
better social scientist – without them, I don’t believe I’d be a different person today.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I would like to take a moment and extend my
sincerest appreciation to everybody who took the time to participate in the survey and follow up
interview necessary for completion of this research. Your selections, your thoughts, and your
insights helped shape this work and without them I would quite literally have a very different
product. Your time and patience has helped me grow as an academic, and shaped my experience
for the better.
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Abstract
This research sought to understand the dynamics of latent network structures – what they look
like in action, how the social forces within function, and how ties within such a structure may
develop. Relying on initial theory developed by Caroline Haythornthwaite (2005), incorporates
empirical observations to elaborate upon network latency. Carrying out the research in a virtual
community known as 4chan, a survey approach was first undertaken (N = 768) and then
followed up with semi-structured interviews (N = 29). The sense of community index, version 2
(SCI-2), measured social capital exchange while cultural and symbolic capital measured
participation in the forum and accumulation of images. Findings suggest the presence of an
aggregate community structure and decreased importance of social capital, and provide
additional support for a latent model. Evidence also suggests that social capital has a less
powerful impact on the network, with cultural capital gaining importance.

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Contents
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi
Chapter 1: Introduction, Background, and Theory Building .......................................................... 1
Building the Latent Theory ................................................................................................. 3
Establishing a latent network type. ......................................................................... 3
Idea saliency, social range, and their roles in latency. ............................................ 7
Hypotheses and Expectations ............................................................................... 10
Chapter 2: Reviewing the Literature and Building the Research ................................................. 13
Laying the Foundations..................................................................................................... 13
Defining latency. ................................................................................................... 13
Community grounding. ......................................................................................... 15
Differentiating between ties and networks. .......................................................... 18
Capital accrual and development. ......................................................................... 23
Building the Research ....................................................................................................... 25
Research site focus: why 4chan? .......................................................................... 25
Observing idea saliency ........................................................................................ 30
Observing social range .......................................................................................... 32
Chapter 3: Methods and Pretesting ............................................................................................... 35
Constructing Indicators ..................................................................................................... 35
v
General components.............................................................................................. 35
Social, Cultural, and Symbolic Capital Battery ................................................................ 40
Sampling. .............................................................................................................. 40
Object Biography Interviews ............................................................................................ 42
Sampling. .............................................................................................................. 43
SCSCB Pretesting ............................................................................................................. 45
Definition validity. ................................................................................................ 46
Difficulty of pretested questions. .......................................................................... 49
Question comparisons. .......................................................................................... 53
Response drop off. ................................................................................................ 56
Chapter 4: Reporting and Analyses .............................................................................................. 58
Results ............................................................................................................................... 58
Analyses and Interpretation .............................................................................................. 74
Social, cultural and symbolic capital battery. ....................................................... 75
Object biography interviews. ................................................................................ 96
Networks approaches. ......................................................................................... 106
Chapter 5: Concluding Thoughts ................................................................................................ 117
Works Cited ................................................................................................................................ 124
Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 128
Appendix A: Human Subjects Review Permission ........................................................ 129
Appendix B: Social, Cultural, and Symbolic Capital Battery ........................................ 130
Appendix C: Object Biography Interview Guide ........................................................... 146
Interview guide. .................................................................................................. 146
vi
Object biography guide. ...................................................................................... 147
Appendix D: Object Biography Images .......................................................................... 148
Appendix E: Countries Located ...................................................................................... 152

vii
List of Tables
Table 1. Image Assignment .............................................................................................. 43
Table 2. Object Biography Volunteer Filtering by Board of Interest ............................... 44
Table 3. Evaluated Words and Associated Themes .......................................................... 48
Table 4. Paired Sample T-Test Number of Hours Spent, 4chan Whole and Board of
Interest............................................................................................................................... 53
Table 5. Respondent Participation .................................................................................... 54
Table 6. Image Use T-Test................................................................................................ 56
Table 7. Sex and Gender A/B Differences ........................................................................ 56
Table 8. Social Range ....................................................................................................... 59
Table 9. Social Range Report ........................................................................................... 60
Table 10. Board of Interest ............................................................................................... 62
Table 11. Sense of Community Dimensions and Total .................................................... 63
Table 12. Sense of Community Objective ........................................................................ 64
Table 13. Sense of Community Subjective ....................................................................... 64
Table 14. Hours Spent....................................................................................................... 65
Table 15. Network Variables ............................................................................................ 66
Table 16. Frequency of Interaction ................................................................................... 66
Table 17. Frequency of Topic ........................................................................................... 67
Table 18. Cultural Participation ........................................................................................ 68
Table 19. Thread Participation Count ............................................................................... 69
Table 20. Thread Type Participation ................................................................................ 70
Table 21. Log 10 Transformation of Image Collections................................................... 71
viii
Table 22. Personal Information Sharing Frequencies ....................................................... 72
Table 23. Personal Information Sharing Total .................................................................. 73
Table 24. Race Reports on 4chan ..................................................................................... 73
Table 25. Sense of Community Items and Models ........................................................... 77
Table 26. SCI-2 Goodness-of-Fit Statistics ...................................................................... 78
Table 27. SCI-2 Dimensions Average Variance Extracted .............................................. 78
Table 28. SCI-2 Dimensions Cronbach's Alpha ............................................................... 78
Table 29. ANOVA on Poster Status and Final Model Sense of Community ................... 80
Table 30. Pearson Correlations Network Variables and Final Model Sense of
Community ....................................................................................................................... 80
Table 31. Kendall's Tau and Spearman's Rho Network Variables and Final Model Sense
of Community ................................................................................................................... 81
Table 32. Network Variables on SCI-2 Final Model ........................................................ 81
Table 33. Final Model Indicators ...................................................................................... 82
Table 34. Correlations Sense of Community Index Final Model and Participation ......... 83
Table 35. Spearman Correlations for Personal Information Sharing on Sense of
Community and Social Range .......................................................................................... 84
Table 36. Spearman's Correlations Sense of Community, Social Range on Thread Type
Reading/Posting ................................................................................................................ 85
Table 37. Linear Regressions and Resulting Model ......................................................... 87
Table 38. ANOVA with Personal Information Sharing and Sense of Community .......... 88
Table 39. ANOVA Personal Information Sharing on Network Variables and Mean
Plots.................................................................................................................................. 89
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