The Question
Does social network data gathered online accurately reflect real-world offline relationships?
Our Approach
This article directly compares online and offline social ties, using novel experimental methods. We collected data on both types of connections to test external validity.
Key Finding
We found strong similarity between online and offline relationships despite their different contexts. The nature of these ties appears consistent across domains.
Why It Matters
These results confirm that online network data can effectively test long-standing theories in political science about social networks' role in collective action.
