Eliciting representative samples of personal networks

McCarty, Christopher; Bernard, H. Russell; Killworth, Peter D.; Shelley, Gene A.; Johnsen, Eugene C.

doi:10.1016/s0378-8733(96)00302-4

Cited by 202 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In recent years, questionnaire design has been the focus of considerable discussion (Milardo, ed. 1988;McCarty et al 1997); the main conclusion from this has been that questionnaires which take more than a few minutes to complete or are too complex in their design tend to result in loss of concentration and poor levels of completion (Dunbar and Spoors 1995). Because the information we required was both detailed and lengthy, we preferred a design in which a small number of individuals distributed questionnaires to personal acquaintances.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, relatively few studies have attempted to investigate complete social networks in humans (McCarty et al 1997), primarily due to the difficulty in estimating and defining an individual's "network" from the range of interactions that exist within everyday life. As a result, studies have tended to focus on determining total network size (Johnson et al 1995;Killworth et al 1990Killworth et al , 1998McCarty et al 2001;Pool and Kochen 1978), with relatively little attention paid to the interactions within these networks.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Social network size in humans

Hill

Dunbar

2003

Hum Nat

860

648

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This paper examines social network size in contemporary Western society based on the exchange of Christmas cards. Maximum network size averaged 153.5 individuals, with a mean network size of 124.9 for those individuals explicitly contacted; these values are remarkably close to the group size of 150 predicted for humans on the basis of the size of their neocortex. Age, household type, and the relationship to the individual influence network structure, although the proportion of kin remained relatively constant at around 21%. Frequency of contact between network members was primarily determined by two classes of variable: passive factors (distance, work colleague, overseas) and active factors (emotional closeness, genetic relatedness). Controlling for the influence of passive factors on contact rates allowed the hierarchical structure of human social groups to be delimited. These findings suggest that there may be cognitive constraints on network size.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social network size in humans

Hill

Dunbar

2003

Hum Nat

860

648

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We asked respondents to provide fi rst names of 20 individuals ages 13 or older that they knew, who knew them, and that they had contact with (in person, by phone, by internet, by mail) sometime during the past 3 months. Interviewers used standardized probes to assist participants in recalling 20 network members (McCarty et al, 1997;Tucker et al, 2009;Wenzel et al, 2009). Each participant nominated 20 social network members, as requested, and we concluded solicitation of names after the 20th person had been named.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Social Network Correlates of Heavy Drinking Similar Among Black Homeless Youth and White Homeless Youth?

Wenzel¹,

Hsu²,

Zhou³

et al. 2012

J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs

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ABSTRACT. Objective: Understanding factors associated with heavy drinking among homeless youth is important for prevention efforts. Social networks are associated with drinking among homeless youth, and studies have called for attention to racial differences in networks that may affect drinking behavior. This study investigates differences in network characteristics by the racial background of homeless youth, and associations of network characteristics with heavy drinking. (Heavy drinking was defi ned as having fi ve or more drinks of alcohol in a row within a couple of hours on at least one day within the past 30 days.) Method: A probability sample of 235 Black and White homeless youths ages 13-24 were interviewed in Los Angeles County. We used chi-square or one-way analysis of variance tests to examine network differences by race and logistic regressions to identify network correlates of heavy drinking among Black and White homeless youth. Results: The networks of Black youth included signifi cantly more relatives and students who attend school regularly, whereas the networks of White youth were more likely to include homeless persons, relatives who drink to intoxication, and peers who drink to intoxication. Having peers who drink heavily was signifi cantly associated with heavy drinking only among White youth. For all homeless youth, having more students in the network who regularly attend school was associated with less risk of heavy drinking. Conclusions: This study is the fi rst to our knowledge to investigate racial differences in network characteristics and associations of network characteristics with heavy drinking among homeless youth. White homeless youth may benefi t from interventions that reduce their ties with peers who drink. Enhancing ties to school-involved peers may be a promising intervention focus for both Black and White homeless youth. (J. Stud.

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“…La suma de redes egocentradas generalmente se limita a las informaciones de Ego y pueden no permitir un análisis estructural completo (Wellman, 2002;Scott, 2000:30-2). Actualmente, algunas técnicas para el análisis de redes personales estructurales (McCarty et al 1997;McCarty, 2002) permiten una investigación segura de los efectos estructurales sobre los comportamientos a partir de redes egocentradas (esta alternativa es conocida como el análisis de redes personales, diferente del análisis clásico de egocentradas). En este trabajo presentamos un análisis compuesto por la perspectiva de redes totales y complementado por redes egocentradas, pues las informaciones recogidas originalmente fueron reconstituidas y adaptadas a la perspectiva de actores indígenas centrales.…”

Section: Consideraciones Metodológicas: Redes Sociales Totales Y Egocunclassified

Redes sociales en una investigación de migración indígena: el caso de Manaus

Fígoli

Fazito²

2009

Rev. bras. estud. popul.

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Eliciting representative samples of personal networks

Cited by 202 publications

References 11 publications

Social network size in humans

Social network size in humans

Are Social Network Correlates of Heavy Drinking Similar Among Black Homeless Youth and White Homeless Youth?

Redes sociales en una investigación de migración indígena: el caso de Manaus

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