Measuring personal networks with surveys

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Kogovšek ◽  
Valentina Hlebec
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Measurement Method ◽  
Personal Networks ◽  
Event Generator ◽  
Personal Network ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Financial Time ◽  
Respondent Burden ◽  
The Social ◽  
Basic Approaches

Like in other fields of inquiry in the social sciences, in social network research the most frequently used measurement method is the survey. Compared with other measurement objects such as networks of opinions, attitudes or values, measurement is more complex and thus often more challenging. Measurement typically occurs in two main phases. First, network units are measured (generated). Second, the relationships among the units and other unit characteristics (e.g. demographic properties) are determined, while some specific questions arise as to whether whole or egocentric (personal) networks are to be measured. In this paper, we limit ourselves to measuring personal networks, especially when compared with different methods for generating networks. There are five basic approaches to generating a personal network: name generator, role generator, event generator, positional generator, and contextual generator. Each is associated with particular research goals, costs (financial, time, respondent burden), advantages, and limitations. Moreover, the complexity and specifics of generating networks mean one must consider the characteristics of data collection modes (e.g. face-to-face, telephone, web). In this sense, we will present the advantages and limits of various methods of generating personal networks, evaluate them critically and comparatively, and illustrate them with often used examples.

scholarly journals ESTUDIO EMPÍRICO PARA DETERMINAR EL NIVEL DE ANSIEDAD HACIA LA MATEMÁTICA EN ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS. EMPIRICAL STUDY TO MEASURE ANXIETY TOWARD MATHEMATICS ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo García Santillán ◽  
Milka Elena Escalera Chávez ◽  
Josefina Carmen Santana Villegas ◽  
Bertha Yolanda Guzmán Rivas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
College Students ◽  
Mathematics Anxiety ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
Math Anxiety ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mathematical Problems ◽  
Para Determinar

Abstract.Mathematical knowledge is very important in the lives of people, therefore, it is necessary understand it and make good use of mathematics in everyday life. Therefore, the aim of this work is to identify whether there is a set of latent variables that allow explain the anxiety toward math on students at Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtepec, Oaxaca. The study is quantitative; and the study sample was formed of 303 college students from several profiles of the social sciences and engineering areas. The instrument utilized, is the scale of Munoz and Mato (2007) and was applied face to face to sample of study, in order to get data that allow us measure mathematics anxiety. The results show that students consider about the exposed variables that, the most prominent variable is the anxiety toward mathematics when faced in real life situations. The results allow us to observe that the studied variables explained 81% of variance that explains the math anxiety; the remaining 19% is explained by other variables that have not been considered in this research. Hence, if the student increases their anxiety in one of those, for example toward compression of mathematical problems, other variables also increase as the results show that there is a direct relationship between them.Keywords: Anxiety, Mathematics, Attitude toward mathematics, mathematics evaluationResumen.Los conocimientos matemáticos son de suma importancia en la vida de las personas, por lo tanto en la actualidad es necesario entender y hacer buen uso de las matemáticas en la vida diaria. El objetivo de este trabajo es identificar si en los alumnos del Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtepec, existe un conjunto de variables que pueden explicar la ansiedad frente a las matemáticas. El estudio es cuantitativo, la muestra de estudio se conformó de 303 estudiantes del nivel universitario del Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, de varios perfiles de ciencias sociales e ingeniería. Se utilizó el cuestionario Muñoz y Mato-Vázquez (2007), para medir la ansiedad a las matemáticas. Los resultados muestran que los estudiantes consideran que de las variables expuestas, la más preponderante es la ansiedad que les causa las matemáticas cuando se encuentran en situaciones de la vida real. Los resultados dejan ver que las variables analizadas contribuyen con el 81% a determinar la ansiedad hacia las matemáticas, el 19% restante es explicado por otras variables que no han sido consideradas en esta investigación. De ahí que, si el estudiante incrementa su ansiedad en una de ellas por ejemplo hacia la compresión de los problemas matemáticos, las otras variables también se incrementan ya que los resultados muestran que hay una relación directa entre ellas.Palabras clave: Ansiedad, Matemáticas, Actitud hacia las matemáticas, Evaluación matemática.

Inquiring into Communication in Science: Alternative Approaches

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 613-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Oleinik
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Coase Theorem ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
Communication Problems ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Key Points ◽  
The Social ◽  
Communication In Science

ArgumentThis article focuses on a problematic character of communication in science. Two solutions are compared: paradigm-based science (the natural sciences model and its extension to the social sciences as represented by economics) and the semiotic solution developed in the arts and social sciences. There are several parallels between the latter approach and Marxist dialectics. A third, original, approach to solving communication problems is proposed; it can be labeled “transactional.” It represents a version of the semiotic solution with particular emphasis on interactions, both face-to-face and depersonalized, and the imperative of negotiating and finding compromises. Communication problems existing at two registers of interactions, face-to-face and depersonalized, are differentiated; freedom is interpreted as the capacity to change the registers at will. An in-depth case study of the Coase theorem in economic sciences and legal studies illustrates key points in the proposed analysis.

scholarly journals Supporting students' learning on 'short project' placements.

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-57
Author(s):  
David Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Learning ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
The Subject

Much of the research into higher education and its role in work-based learning (WBL), and especially in supporting undergraduate students on placements, has focussed on longer term internships and sandwich courses. Research has also focussed on subject areas that have traditionally been associated with the above; for example, Business, Health, and Engineering. By contrast, the aim of this study was to gather data from students on a much shorter period of placement, categorised as a ‘short project’ (Brennan & Little, 1996). Furthermore, the data recovered was from students studying within the social sciences paradigm, undertaking an undergraduate degree in Education Studies (not teacher education). The social sciences and humanities more generally have not been discussed to any great extent within the context of research on placement or work-based learning (see Smith, Clegg, Lawrence, & Todd, 2007); the subject of Education Studies is not covered at all by previous research. This paper considers the different ways practitioners might blend learning and support university students’ experiential and academic learning in this short project format. The results suggest that even a relatively short period of structured placement can be of significant benefit to students although for many respondents, face-to-face contact in the form of lectures and tutorials is still an important component of a blended approach to WBL.

Live through of the Students in the Conditions of Pandemic of Covid - 19

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-171
Author(s):  
Valeri Stoyanov
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
The Other ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact

Using the methodological approach of qualitative research to conduct empirical research in the social sciences, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' experiences of the present and their projections for the future is revealed. The results show that many of them find positives from social isolation in the opportunity to pay more attention to the people important to them and to work more purposefully on their own development. On the other hand, serious fears are revealed, the main of which is for the health and life of their loved ones, as well as for the future, for their career development and realization. They find it difficult to tolerate social isolation and most of them experience their mental state as shaky, as depressed. In general, students have a negative attitude towards distance learning – online, considering it inferior to face-to-face training and assess this training as a risk to their professional development and subsequent realization in the labor market.

scholarly journals Real gates to virtual fields: Integrating online and offline ethnography in studying cannabis cultivation and reflections on the applicability of this approach in criminological ethnography more generally

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 205979911772060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary R Potter
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Research ◽  
Deviant Behaviour ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Interactions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Online Methods ◽  
Traditional Approaches

This article explores the interplay between online and offline approaches in criminological ethnography. Criminology has come to embrace online research: in addition to offering numerous research benefits generic to the social sciences, the Internet offers solutions to various problems specific to active offender research. Furthermore, as many types of criminal or deviant behaviour increasingly have online aspects, so engaging in online research becomes both valid and vital to any meaningful ethnography. However, online approaches should be treated with caution: they are subject to their own limitations, and to rely on online methods as an alternative to traditional approaches can be as problematic as failing to embrace online research at all. Drawing on my experiences researching cannabis cultivation, I demonstrate some of the ways that offline and online methods complement one another. Online methods were useful in expanding my own study beyond the normal constraints of ethnography by generating a larger and more varied sample and providing access to more data than traditional ethnographic approaches. They were also essential for exploring the various online aspects of cannabis cultivation. But offline methods proved invaluable in accessing and recruiting respondents online and in providing the experience essential to participating in – and understanding – cultivation-related online interactions. Both approaches revealed findings not identified by the other, and research in each environment helped with understanding experiences and observations in the other. I argue that while there are clear strengths in online approaches to criminological ethnography, certain pitfalls arise when online techniques are used without employing face-to-face research as well. Triangulation of online and offline methods can enhance the understanding of many human behaviours, but may be particularly useful in overcoming the difficulties inherent in criminological ethnography. For many (although by no means all) criminological topics, online methods can usefully enhance, but not replace, traditional ethnographic techniques.

scholarly journals Collecting large personal networks in a representative sample of Dutch women

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert Stulp
Keyword(s):  
Representative Sample ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Missing Values ◽  
Personal Networks ◽  
Network Data ◽  
Personal Network ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Respondent Burden ◽  
Visual Elements ◽  
Significant Burden

In this study we report on our experiences with collecting large personal network data (25 alters) from a representative sample of Dutch women. We made use of GENSI, a recently developed tool for network data collection using interactive visual elements that has been shown to reduce respondent burden. A sample of 758 women between the ages of 18 and 40 were recruited through the LISS-panel; a longitudinal online survey of Dutch men and women. Respondents were asked to name exactly 25 alters, answer sixteen questions about these alters (name interpreter questions), and assess all 300 alter-alter relations. Nearly all (97%) respondents reported on 25 alters. Non-response was minimal: 92% of respondents had no missing values, and an additional 5% had fewer then 10% missing values. Listing 25 alters took 3.5±2.2 (mean±SD) minutes, and reporting on the ties between these alters took 3.6±1.3 minutes. Answering all alter question took longest with a time of 15.2±5.3 minutes. The majority of respondents thought the questions were clear and easy to answer, and most enjoyed filling in the survey. Collecting large personal networks can mean a significant burden to respondents, but through the use of visual elements in the survey, it is clear that it can be done within reasonable time and enjoyment and without much non-response.

scholarly journals The Continued Relevance of Ego Network Data

2020 ◽  
pp. 169-187
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Statistical Techniques ◽  
Network Data ◽  
Personal Network ◽  
Network Information ◽  
The Social ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
Full Network

Ego network data have a long history in the social sciences, acting as a bridge between traditional statistical techniques and network analysis. Ego network data provide personal network information, as the data are based on a sample of individuals. This chapter details the basic features of such data, describing the advantages, disadvantages, and potential applications of using ego network data. Ego network data remain a popular choice, despite the growing availability of full network data sources. This is in large part because ego network data are easy to collect but still provide a surprisingly large amount of network information. Ego network data are also quite flexible, with past work using the same basic data structure for widely different purposes. Given the ease of collection and the flexibility of use, there is every reason to believe that ego network data will continue to be a useful option for network scholars.

scholarly journals Upstream Attractiveness of the Brazilian Oil and Natural Gas Sector: An Assessment based on the Stakeholders’ Perceptions

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Marcos Antonio Lins da Costa Cintra ◽  
André Felipe Simões
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Market Structures ◽  
The Social ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas ◽  
Original Information

This study provides an overview of 25 Upstream attributes of the Brazilian oil and natural gas sector and of the country itself, identifying from the industry stakeholders’ perspective the strengths and weaknesses that were aggregated with the support of SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) in four factorials: Trade, Regulatory, Prospectivity and Business Environment. The four field surveys which totalled 1,143 structured face-to-face interviews were conducted during the 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 editions of Rio Oil & Gas, the largest trade fair of the industry in Latin America. The methodology used - based on established international research, competitive determinants related to industry and market structures, and traditional variables to assess the attractiveness of the segment - seems to have been consistent with the intended objective to elucidate issues to statistically confirm current opinions and to bring original information.

Mediated Contact

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Joyce
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Identification ◽  
Prejudice Reduction ◽  
Contact Theory ◽  
Parasocial Relationships ◽  
Intergroup Contact Theory ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Social ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Mediated Contact

Mediated contact involves exposing audiences to people from other social groups (ethnic, religious, political, etc.) through media. It is an extension of intergroup contact theory, one of the most widely studied and successful prejudice reduction strategies in the social sciences. Mediated contact has effects on explicit and implicit attitudes, as well as physiological responses towards other groups. These effects generally serve to improve intergroup relations in terms of affective, cognitive, and normative outcomes. These outcomes can be understood in terms of a number of psychological processes, which here are synthesized into three thematic headers: Liking, identifying, and learning. Each of these themes taps into existing theoretical areas including parasocial relationships, social identification, and social cognition. Mediated contact has been shown to be effective across a wide variety of study methodologies and contexts, for a wide variety of participants, targeting a wide variety of social out-groups. Although the effects of mediated contact seem to be secondary to face-to-face experience, the fact that many people possess information about groups primarily through media make it an important area of study. While the current media landscape is often less positive and diverse than the ideals of mediated contact, research suggests that positive mediated contact can still have an impact on audiences in both the laboratory and the real world.

The Science of Diversity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Sue Weissmark
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Children Of Holocaust Survivors ◽  
Human Diversity ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Social ◽  
Evolution Of Ideas

Using a multidisciplinary approach, The Science of Diversity reveals the theories, principles, and paradigms that illuminate people’s understanding of the issues surrounding human diversity, social equality, and justice. Noted psychologist and educator Dr. Mona Weissmark assembles a rich array of research from anthropology, biology, religious studies, and the social sciences to write a scholarly diorama of diversity. This book contextualizes diversity historically, tracing the evolution of ideas about “the other” and about “we” and “them” to various forms of social organization—from the “hunter-gather,” face-to-face, shared resource model to the anomie of megacities. Moreover, it explicates the concept of diversity, analyzing its meaning over time, place, and polity—from ancient Greece to the time of Donald Trump, from biblical parables to United Nations pronouncements. Ultimately, drawing on the author’s groundbreaking research work with the children of Nazis and the children of Holocaust survivors, the book suggests that one potential antidote to ethnic strife lies in the pursuit of Immanuel Kant’s mandate, sapere aude (dare to know), combined with the development of compassion.

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