Does sample source matter for theory? Testing model invariance with the influence of presumed influence model across Amazon Mechanical Turk and Qualtrics Panels

Online data collection services are increasingly common for testing mass communication theory. However, how consistent are the theoretical tenets of theory when tested across different online data services? A pre-registered online survey (N = 1546) examined the influence of the presumed influence model across subjects simultaneously recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and Qualtrics Panels. Results revealed that model parameters were mostly consistent with the IPI theory regardless of data source. Methodological implications are discussed.