2013 Articles
A Practical Guide to Measuring Social Structure Using Indirectly Observed Network Data
Aggregated relational data (ARD) are an increasingly common tool for learning about social networks through standard surveys. Recent statistical advances present social scientists with new options for analyzing such data. In this article, we propose guidelines for learning about various network processes using ARD and a template to aid practitioners. We first propose that ARD can be used to measure “social distance” between a respondent and a subpopulation (individuals named Kevin, those in prison, or those serving in the military). We then present common methods for analyzing these data and associate each of these methods with a specific way of measuring social distance, thus associating statistical tools with their underlying social science phenomena. We examine the implications of using each of these social distance measures using an Internet survey about contemporary political issues.
Subjects
Files
- PracticalGuide_Indirect_final2012.pdf application/pdf 450 KB Download File
Also Published In
- Title
- Journal of Statistical Theory and Practice
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/15598608.2013.756360
More About This Work
- Academic Units
- Sociology
- Statistics
- Social Work
- Published Here
- March 31, 2015