This paper discusses the methodological challenges in developing, measuring and validating a complex and multifaceted concept, like Digital Capital. Digital Capital is a relatively new concept in academic literature: it emerged within the digital divide research strand , with the aim to analyze the „set of dispositions‟ developed by people when they get in touch with new technologies, especially the digital and the ICT ones (Park 2017; Ragnedda 2018). Although there have been several theoretical definitions of Digital Capital (Hamelink 2000; Seale et al. 2006; Morgan 2010; Prieur and Savage 2013), very few attempts were made to operationalize and measure it so far. One of the first effort to provide a measure of Digital Capital was made by Ragnedda and Ruiu (2019), relying on the following definition : “‟a set of internalised abilities and aptitudes‟ (digital competencies) as well as „externalised resources‟ (digital technology) that can be historically accumulated and transferred from one arena to another” (Ragnedda 2018). Ragnedda, Ruiu and Addeo (2019) have recently operationalized this definition through a research carried out on a representative sample of UK citizens. The results proved the construct validity of the operational definition, thus showing that Digital Capital could be empirically measured. However, a measurement model needs to be tested and validated over time and in different sociocultural context in order to be refined and strengthened. This is the reason why this paper will show the results of a research carried out to test the validity of the Digital Capital measure in a different country, i.e. Italy. Our research design strictly followed the operational definition and the methodological path provided in the original paper (Ragnedda, Ruiu and Addeo 2019). Thus, the data were collected with an online survey carried out on a sample of Italian people and analyzed with bivariate and multivariate statistics. By testing the validity of the Digital Capital measurement model, results will discuss the challenges and the pitfalls in operationalizing complex concept in social research.
Defining and measuring digital capital: Results from an Italian study
D'Auria Valentina
2020
Abstract
This paper discusses the methodological challenges in developing, measuring and validating a complex and multifaceted concept, like Digital Capital. Digital Capital is a relatively new concept in academic literature: it emerged within the digital divide research strand , with the aim to analyze the „set of dispositions‟ developed by people when they get in touch with new technologies, especially the digital and the ICT ones (Park 2017; Ragnedda 2018). Although there have been several theoretical definitions of Digital Capital (Hamelink 2000; Seale et al. 2006; Morgan 2010; Prieur and Savage 2013), very few attempts were made to operationalize and measure it so far. One of the first effort to provide a measure of Digital Capital was made by Ragnedda and Ruiu (2019), relying on the following definition : “‟a set of internalised abilities and aptitudes‟ (digital competencies) as well as „externalised resources‟ (digital technology) that can be historically accumulated and transferred from one arena to another” (Ragnedda 2018). Ragnedda, Ruiu and Addeo (2019) have recently operationalized this definition through a research carried out on a representative sample of UK citizens. The results proved the construct validity of the operational definition, thus showing that Digital Capital could be empirically measured. However, a measurement model needs to be tested and validated over time and in different sociocultural context in order to be refined and strengthened. This is the reason why this paper will show the results of a research carried out to test the validity of the Digital Capital measure in a different country, i.e. Italy. Our research design strictly followed the operational definition and the methodological path provided in the original paper (Ragnedda, Ruiu and Addeo 2019). Thus, the data were collected with an online survey carried out on a sample of Italian people and analyzed with bivariate and multivariate statistics. By testing the validity of the Digital Capital measurement model, results will discuss the challenges and the pitfalls in operationalizing complex concept in social research.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.