The Meta-Analysis of the Role of Using Virtual Social Networks in the Academic Achievement of Students

Hamedinasab, Sadegh; Rahimi Khalilollahi, Shahla

doi:10.22082/cr.2025.2044341.2748

The Meta-Analysis of the Role of Using Virtual Social Networks in the Academic Achievement of Students

Document Type : Social Network

Authors

Sadegh Hamedinasab ¹

Shahla Rahimi Khalilollahi ²

¹ Assistant of Prof. in Educational Sciences, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

² . PhD in Curriculum, Al-Zahra University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22082/cr.2025.2044341.2748

Abstract

Academic achievement of students is one of the key indicators in evaluating higher education systems. Therefore, it is essential to consider the role of virtual social networks in the academic progress of students. The aim of the present study is to conduct a meta-analysis of the role of using virtual social networks in students' academic achievement. This research adopts a meta-analysis method. The statistical population includes all articles from scientific databases published between 2011 and 2024. From the existing works, 146 articles were selected, and after further analysis, 14 studies were chosen for having the necessary information (effect size, sample size, and variance). To conduct the meta-analysis on the role of social networks in academic achievement, issues such as publication bias, heterogeneity, and effect size were examined. The sensitivity of the effect size and the effect size coefficient were analysed using the CMA2 software. The findings indicated that the effect size of virtual social networks on the academic achievement of students varied across high, medium, and low levels, with the highest effect size being 0.72 and the lowest being 0.01. The result of combining and synthesising the studies showed a positive but non-significant effect of virtual social networks on students' academic achievement (r = 0.10). Based on the overall effect size obtained and Cohen’s interpretation criteria, the intensity of the effect of social networks on the academic achievement of students was found to be small.

Keywords

Meta-analysis

Virtual social networks

Virtual space

Academic Progress

Students

Subjects

Social Networks

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