Opinion Leadership and Sharing Vaccination Information: A Mixed-Method Approach

The current research aims to investigate how opinion leadership affects sharing vaccination information by employing a mixed-method approach combining computational methods with a survey questionnaire. It also explores how opinion leadership and attitudes affect the valence of shared information. In Study 1, by analyzing social media digital traces, we adopted a sociometric measure for opinion leadership online and used it to explain individuals’ actual information sharing behaviors online. In Study 2, by conducting a cross-sectional survey, we adopted a self-reported measure for opinion leadership and examined how such opinion leadership is associated with their behavioral intention to share general vaccination information and anti-vaccination information. This hybrid approach with multiple source data grants greater external validity of our research findings.