Measuring Digital Divide by Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and MANOVA : A Case of Turkey

The aim of the study is to determine the factors of individuals’ skills with regard to internet usage in Turkey by Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and to analyze the factor indicators in order to clarify if they vary by gender, age and education level, i.e. if a digital divide is in question, by Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) method. For that purpose, the data on “IT Usage – 2016” of Turkish Statistical Institute was selected as baseline. All data used in this study is categorical. Though, since Confirmatory Factor Analysis and MANOVA are methods using continuous variables, firstly, the variables were transferred to quantified variables by Optimal Scaling method, and before employing Confirmatory Factor Analysis and MANOVA methods, the validity of both multivariate normality and equality of variance-covariance matrices hypotheses was checked. The results obtained showed that the skill with regard to internet usage consists of four factors: personal intended internet activities, e-learning, e-government services, and software related activities. According to the MANOVA results, these factors significantly vary by gender, age, and education level, and thus, there’s a second and a third level digital divide between individuals in Turkey.