Conducting Personal Network Research

Christopher McCarty, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Anthropology at the University of Florida, where he is also Director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. He has done research on personal networks since the 1980s and is the developer of EgoNet, the first program for the collection and analysis of personal network data. Dr. McCarty has conducted studies of migration, disasters, substance abuse, homelessness, and racism. Along with his coauthors, he conducted the largest personal network study of migrants to date, using data from Spain and the United States.Miranda J. Lubbers, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, and Director of the Research Group on Fundamental and Oriented Anthropology. Dr. Lubbers has investigated personal networks in the area of migration and transnationalism, poverty and livelihood strategies, and social cohesion in Spain. Currently she directs two research projects using personal networks. She also co-organizes a biennial international summer school in Personal Network Analysis.Raffaele Vacca, PhD, is Research Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida. Dr. Vacca designed and conducted one of the first personal network surveys among international migrants in Italy. In the past few years he has taught courses and workshops on quantitative methods and statistical software for social network analysis at several international conferences and universities in Europe, the United States, and Latin America. His current interests focus on international migration, health disparities, social networks, and science and scientific collaboration.José Luis Molina, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. He is also president of the University's Research Ethics Committee. Dr. Molina is an economic anthropologist who studies the emergence of socioeconomic structures such as migrant enclaves and transnational fields. He is interested in mixed-methods approaches combining ethnography and personal network analysis, with a focus on Southeast Europe, and Romania in particular.

• Prologue1. IntroductionWhat Is This Chapter About?1.1 Everyone Has a Personal Network1.2 The Size, Composition, and Structure of Personal Networks1.3 Egos, Alters, Egocentric Networks, and Sociocentric Networks1.4 Should I Use Personal Network or Whole Network Analysis?Box: Combining Personal and Whole Networks1.5 Who Is This Book For?1.6 Book OverviewChapter Summary2. How Personal Networks Have Been Used So FarWhat Is This Chapter About?2.1 A Brief History of Personal Network AnalysisBox: The Bott Hypothesis about Conjugal Roles and Social NetworksBox: Clyde Mitchell and the Manchester SchoolBox: The Small World ExperimentBox: The East York Studies2.2 What We Currently Know about Personal Networks2.3 Theoretical Frameworks for Effects of Personal Networks on Individual Outcomes2.4 Final RemarksChapter SummaryFurther Reading3. Developing a Research QuestionWhat Is This Chapter About?3.1 Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Objectives3.2 Outcomes and Social Determinants3.3 Real or Perceived?3.4 Some Examples of Questions and Hypotheses in Personal Network ResearchChapter SummaryFurther Reading4. Getting Started: Selecting a Population, Survey Mode, and Sampling FramesWhat Is This Chapter About?4.1 Deciding Whether Personal Network Analysis Is Appropriate4.2 Selecting a PopulationBox: Neighborhood Networks and StatusBox: Emotional Support and Cognitive Functioning among the ElderlyBox: Social Support and Smoking in African American Adults4.3 The Survey Mode4.4 The Sampling Frame4.5 Integration with Larger Surveys4.6 Identifying Dependent and Explanatory VariablesBox: Loneliness and DementiaBox: Personal Networks and Ethnic IdentityChapter SummaryFurther Reading5. Questions about the EgoWhat Is This Chapter About?5.1 Variables and Research Aims: What Questions to AskBox: Personal Networks and Social Support: Comparing Two Ethnic Groups in Southern California5.2 Levels of MeasurementBox: Needle-Sharing and Personal Network Correlates5.3 Wording a QuestionChapter SummaryFurther Reading6. Delineating Personal Networks: Alter ElicitationWhat Is This Chapter About?6.1 What Is a Name Generator?Box: Contact Lists in Phones and Personal Networks6.2 How Social Ties Are Stored in Memory and How They Are RecalledBox: Probing6.3 Defining the Boundaries of Personal Networks6.4 Name Generators for Eliciting Intentional (Nonrandom) Subsets of AltersBox: Multiple Name Generators for Social SupportBox: Single- and Multiple-Name Generators6.5 A Name Generator for Eliciting a Random Subset of Alters6.6 Additional Qualifiers of the Network Boundary6.7 Alternative Approaches to Name GeneratorsBox: Keeping Diaries of Contacts during Three Months and Beyond6.8 Final RemarksChapter SummaryFurther Reading7. Collecting Alter AttributesWhat Is This Chapter About?7.1 What Is a Name Interpreter?7.2 What We Really Know about AltersBox: Alters’ Real Attributes or the Ego’s Perception of Their Attributes?7.3 Questions about the Attributes of Alters7.4 Questions about Relationships between the Ego and the AlterBox: Tie Strength: Closeness, Duration of Relationship, or Frequency of Contact?Box: Level of Knowing, Duration of Relationship, and Frequency of ContactBox: The Friendship Label7.5 How Many Questions about Alters? Respondent BurdenBox: Ordering Questions about Alters Alterwise or QuestionwiseChapter SummaryFurther Reading8. Collecting Data about Ties between AltersWhat Is This Chapter About?8.1 What Is an Edge Interpreter?8.2 What We Really Know about Alter–Alter Ties8.3 Alter–Alter PromptsBox: Detailed Answer Categories for Smaller Personal Networks8.4 Respondent BurdenBox: The Reliability of Respondents’ Evaluations of Alter–Alter TiesBox: A Different Way to Explore Network Structure and CompositionChapter SummaryFurther Reading9. Visualizing Personal NetworksWhat Is This Chapter About?9.1 Personal Network Visualization: Basic Principles9.2 Collecting Personal Network Data through Visual Displays9.3 Network Visualizations as Cues in Qualitative Interviews9.4 Comparing Personal Networks through VisualizationsChapter SummaryFurther Reading10. Measuring Personal Network Characteristics without Generating NamesWhat Is This Chapter About?10.1 Characteristics of Larger Personal Networks10.2 Personal Network SizeBox: The Random Mixing Assumption in the Network Scale-Up Method10.3 Social Distance10.4 Social Capital10.5 Social SupportChapter SummaryFurther Reading11. Analyzing Personal Network Composition and StructureWhat Is This Chapter About?11.1 Summarizing Name Interpreters and Edge Interpreters by Respondents11.2 Creating Simple Compositional Variables from Personal NetworksBox: How to Use SPSS for Working with Personal Network Data11.3 More Advanced Compositional VariablesBox: The Power of Homophily11.4 Creating Simple Structural Variables from Personal NetworksBox: To Include or to Exclude Ego?Box: Personality and Personal Network Structure11.5 Creating Compositional Variables Based on More Than One Attribute11.6 Creating Variables That Combine Composition and StructureBox: 11.7 Adding Compositional and Structural Variables to the DatasetChapter SummaryFurther Reading12. Statistical Modeling with Personal Network Data: The Level of EgosWhat Is This Chapter About?12.1 Personal Network Data and Statistical Modeling12.2 Predicting Ego-Level Dependent Variables12.3 Models for Non-Network Dependent VariablesBox: Using Personal Network Characteristics to Predict Immigrant AssimilationBox: The Effect of Personal Network Exposure on Reproductive Health BehaviorBox: A Longitudinal Analysis of Personal Support Networks and DepressionBox: Using Cluster Analysis to Find Types of Immigrants’ Personal Networks12.4 Models for Network Dependent VariablesBox: Predicting Network Dependent Variables with Generalized Linear ModelsChapter SummaryFurther Reading13. Statistical Modeling with Personal Network Data: The Level of Alters and TiesWhat Is This Chapter About?13.1 Statistical Models for Alters or Ego–Alter TiesBox: Testing Theories on Social Support with Hierarchical Models for Personal Networks13.2 Statistical Models for Alter–Alter TiesBox: Modeling Alter–Alter Ties to Study Transitivity and HomophilyBox: Using Personal Networks to Estimate Whole Network Characteristics through ERGMsBox: Using SAOMs to Examine the Evolution of Alter–Alter Ties over TimeChapter SummaryFurther Reading14. Ethics in Personal Network ResearchWhat Is This Chapter About?14.1 Personal Network Research and Ethical Dilemmas14.2 Gaining Consent14.3 ConfidentialityBox: Incentives and Respondent-Driven Sampling14.4 Social Media and Mobile Phones14.5 Managing and Publishing Personal Network DataBox: Doing Network Research in Organizational SettingsChapter SummaryFurther ReadingAppendixReferences

"Spectacular. The writing is clear, accessible, and succinct, yet unusually comprehensive. The book covers most of what any researcher new to this important kind of analysis would want to know, such as how to think about research questions, conduct research ethically, and collect data effectively. But this book is not only for beginners--experienced researchers will find it a useful reference on many important issues, such as the precise ways that different question wordings in surveys can affect results, and the strengths and benefits of different visualization strategies."--Mario Luis Small, PhD, Grafstein Family Professor of Sociology, Harvard University"This is the best applied textbook on social network analysis I have read. It covers everything from planning and conducting a network study to using network analysis to answer network-specific questions. It provides real-life examples and conceptual explanations in clear, understandable language. The book offers the perfect balance of foundational knowledge of network processes and practical tips for examining them. This is a 'must read' for anyone embarking on network research."--Leslie Echols, PhD, Department of Psychology, Missouri State University"A sound, well-written, and authoritative guide on how to do (and interpret) personal network research. The book nicely links personal network analysis to broader methodological approaches. I really like the boxed research case examples. I recommend this book and will use it both in teaching and professionally.”--Barry Wellman, PhD, Director, NetLab Network, Toronto, Canada"This is an exciting book because it can be used by so many. Researchers new to personal network analysis get definitions, concepts, and design help that will get them going and carry them a long way. At the same time, the book has nuggets that even the most experienced in the field will value. The authors know well many of the methodological issues regarding social network analysis, and have made important contributions, specifically regarding the measurement of networks, the use of multilevel models, and generation of network visualizations. But they also know fieldwork and the deeper scientific issues and challenges that often accompany methodological decisions. This is evidence-based practice at its best. I will immediately recommend this book to several of my students engaging in analysis of personal networks, as well as others who will benefit from specific chapters. I can think of several projects in the past that would have benefited from this book. I am thrilled that it is here now."--Ken Frank, PhD, MSU Foundation Professor of Sociometrics, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, Michigan State University"The book describes the breadth of research in the field. It walks the reader through the process of creating a personal network, typically through a name generator, and addresses important conceptual considerations and pitfalls. I'm a big fan of the boxed examples throughout the book; they tend to summarize really interesting findings. The authors impart a great deal of wisdom and provide enough information to work from initial conceptualization to analysis and presentation of results.”--Bernie Hogan, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom"This is an ideal introductory book for graduate students and researchers interested in studying personal networks. The authors provide great illustrations and case studies of personal networks and why they matter to many outcomes of interest, across fields as diverse as sociology, organizational science, and public health. Descriptions of the challenges that often arise when studying personal networks--and the pros and cons of various solutions--will doubtless help readers make informed decisions when planning their own research."--Kayla de la Haye, PhD, Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California"Written by leading, accomplished scholars, this is a rich how-to guide for students seeking to conduct network analysis. In particular, the book explains well the care--both conceptual and practical--that must be taken to best construct and measure the qualities of social ties."--Claude S. Fischer, PhD, Professor of the Graduate School, Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley -