An inductive typology of egocentric networks

Giannella, Eric; Fischer, Claude S.

doi:10.1016/j.socnet.2016.02.003

Cited by 34 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…As it has been argued in this commentary, establishing an a priori limit of alters can facilitate standardization and comparability in personal network surveys, a procedure that has been productive in recent years. This approach has identified some of the basic factors in structural variability (such as cohesion, integration, and fragmentation) (Lozares, Martí, Molina, & García‐Macías, ; Maya‐Jariego & Holgado, ); and it could serve to elaborate typologies according to the density and modularity of personal networks (Bidart, Degenne, & Grossetti, ; Giannella & Fischer, ; Maya Jariego, ; Maya‐Jariego et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Name Generators with a Fixed Number of Alters may be a Pragmatic Option for Personal Network Analysis

Jariego

2018

American J of Comm Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social network analysis has grown exponentially in recent years, giving rise to methodological innovations in different scientific disciplines. In psychology, social network analysis has been incorporated into studies of individual personality differences and has generated novel areas, such as network psychometrics and network interventions. In community psychology, a recent review examined the use of network analysis in American Journal of Community Psychology publications (Neal & Neal, American Journal of Community Psychology, 2017, 60, 279). Based on their study, the authors advise researchers to avoid using the fixed-choice name generator when possible, as one of the five methodological recommendations proposed. In this essay, I explain how the recent increase of name generators with a fixed number of alters when studying personal networks is originally linked to an interest in describing structural properties. Second, I analyze the pragmatic contributions of this method: establishing a limit of alters a priori can entail advantages in terms of standardization and comparability of personal networks. Finally, to contextualize the methodological debate, I argue that personal networks represent the diversity of contexts in which the individual participates and are naturally integrated into community surveys.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Name Generators with a Fixed Number of Alters may be a Pragmatic Option for Personal Network Analysis

Jariego

2018

American J of Comm Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is a Social Network Analysis study with a descriptive and cross-sectional design that measured several continuous and discrete variables included in the structural, functional and relational-contextual dimensions of personal social networks of the older population in Portugal. This study resorted to a multivariate K-means cluster analysis, through the inductive method, following the indications of previous studies using the same methodology (Burholt and Dobbs 2014;Doubova et al 2010;Giannella and Fischer 2016;Li and Zhang 2015;Litwin 1995a, b;Litwin and Landau 2000;Melkas and Jylhä 1996;Stone and Rosenthal 1996).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The option for network type designations/labels based essentially on network composition, despite the integration of several structural, functional and contextual variables in the typological analysis, is also present in other typologies, both in relation to the general population (Giannella and Fischer 2016;Guèdon 1984;Vassilev et al 2016;Wellman 1979) and to senior citizens (Burholt and Dobbs 2014;Cabral et al 2013;Cheng et al 2009;Li and Zhang 2015;Litwin 1995aLitwin , b, 1997aLitwin , 2001Litwin and Shiovitz-Ezra 2011;Park et al 2014). Some are focused on composition (Cheng et al 2009;Li and Zhang 2015;Litwin 1995aLitwin , b, 1997aLitwin , 2001Litwin and Shiovitz-Ezra 2011;Park et al 2014) and the remaining have this network variable as an important reference.…”

Section: Designation Of Network Types and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Types of Personal Social Networks of Older Adults in Portugal

Guadalupe

Vicente

2020

Soc Indic Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Nature B.V.. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be self-archived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".

show abstract

“…A densidade das redes no nosso estudo é elevadíssima, tal como o verificado noutros estudos sobre redes sociais pessoais de idosos (Litwin, 1995b;Vicente & Sousa, 2012a, 2012b, sendo superiores aos registados para as redes de população adulta (Degenne & Lebeaux, 2005;Giannella & Fischer, 2016;Marsden, 1987;Marti, Bolíbar & Lozares, 2017). Provavelmente tal estará associado ao confinamento familiar das redes (Cabral et al, 2013;Giannella & Fischer, 2016;Litwin, 1995b;Martin, 2004), assim como ao facto de tendermos à interconexão entre os membros das nossas redes à medida que a vida avança, pelas oportunidades de contacto que se vão proporcionando, ou ainda ao facto de redes pequenas permitirem maior nível de interconexão (Wenger, 1991). A marca rural e suburbana da amostra (82,2%), assim como o facto de a maioria (79,6%) ter vivido toda a sua vida na mesma zona ou em localidade próxima, pode também favorecer esta característica.…”

Section: Sãounclassified

“…As transações funcionais da rede social, assim como a sua configuração estrutural, estão inscritas nos eixos diacrónico e sincrónico e são indissociáveis do tempo e do espaço ou mesmo das idiossincrasias da vida quotidiana. Na literatura, emergem tipologias de redes sociais de pessoas idosas que dominantemente conjugam os tipos de vínculo, os aspetos morfológicos ou estruturais e os transacionais (Burholt & Dobbs, 2014;Doubova, Pérez-Cuevas, Espinosa-Alarcón & Flores-Hernández, 2010;Giannella & Fischer, 2016;Li & Zhang, 2015;Litwin, 1995aLitwin, , 1995bLitwin & Landau, 2000;Melkas & Jylha 1996;Mugford & Kendig, 1986;Park, Smith & Dunkle, 2014;Stone & Rosenthal 1996;Wenger, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Características das redes sociais de pessoas idosas em Portugal

Guadalupe

Vicente

Daniel

2019

redes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Este estudo descreve as redes sociais pessoais de idosos em Portugal, nas suas características estruturais, funcionais e relacionais-contextuais. Participaram 612 idosos com 65+ anos de idade (M=76; DP=7,6), na sua maioria mulheres (63%), com filhos (88,2%), e que não vivem sós (78,8%). Estruturalmente as redes apresentam um tamanho médio para a faixa etária (M=7,9), são centradas nas relações familiares e muito coesas. São compostas dominantemente por laços familiares (76%), seguindo-se os laços de amizade (13%) e os de vizinhança (8%). Funcionalmente são percebidas como suportativas e recíprocas, associando-se aos laços familiares níveis mais elevados de suporte emocional, tangível e informativo (p<0,01). Relacional-contextualmente são estáveis temporalmente, heterogéneas quanto ao sexo e ao grupo etário. A frequência de contactos é plurisemanal e há proximidade geográfica com os membros da rede, vivendo mais próximos e tendo contactos mais frequentes com membros extrafamiliares (p<0,01; p<0,05). O perfil das redes sociais pessoais tem interesse epidemiológico para profissionais e atores que interferem organizacional e politicamente na intervenção com população idosa, para compreenderem as condições de provisão social das redes informais e equacionarem a promoção do bem-estar individual e social desta população. Palabras clave: Redes SociasThis study describes the personal social networks of the elderly in Portugal, in their structural, functional and relational-contextual characteristics. 612 elderly people aged 65+ (M=76, SD=7.6) participated, mostly women (63%), with offspring (88.2%) and not living alone (78.8%). Structurally, networks have a medium size for this population (M=7.9), are centered in family relations and have high leves of cohesiveness. They are composed mainly of family ties (76%), followed by friendship ties (13%) and neighborhood ties (8%). Functionally they are perceived as supportative and reciprocal, with family ties associated to higher levels of emotional, tangible and informative support (p<0.01). Regarding relational-contextual variables, they are temporally stable and heterogeneous in gender and age. They are also characterized by multiple contacts per week and geographic proximity with network members. Extrafamilial members live closer to the focal person and engage in more frequent contacts (p<0.01, p<0.05). The profile definition of personal social networks has epidemiological interest for professionals, key actors and stakeholders that are involved, organizationally and politically, in elderly directed interventions, mainly to understand the conditions of social provision of informal networks and to equate the promotion of individual and social well-being in this population.

show abstract

An inductive typology of egocentric networks

Cited by 34 publications

References 35 publications

Why Name Generators with a Fixed Number of Alters may be a Pragmatic Option for Personal Network Analysis

Why Name Generators with a Fixed Number of Alters may be a Pragmatic Option for Personal Network Analysis

Types of Personal Social Networks of Older Adults in Portugal

Características das redes sociais de pessoas idosas em Portugal

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About