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19 - On the General Social Survey

Egocentric Network Studies within the General Social Survey: Measurement Methods, Substantive Findings, and Methodological Research

from III - Later Foundations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2021

By
Peter V. Marsden ,
Maleah Fekete  and
Derick S. Baum
Edited by
Mario L. Small ,
Brea L. Perry ,
Bernice Pescosolido  and
Edward B. Smith
Mario L. Small
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Brea L. Perry
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Bernice Pescosolido
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Edward B. Smith
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
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Summary

Survey methods that randomly sample respondents from populations abstract their subjects out of the settings where social phenomena form and develop. By measuring the egocentric networks that surround respondents, surveys can re-incorporate these interpersonal contexts. This chapter reviews approaches to egocentric measurement implemented within the U.S. General Social Survey (GSS). Among these are global items that obtain direct reports about network properties (e.g. size, composition), short sets (aggregated relational data, position generators) that allow estimation of certain network properties, and longer name generator instruments that obtain more granular data on the individual contacts (“alters”) and relationships within a respondent’s egocentric network. The review gives particular attention to the “important matters” name generator for measuring “core” networks, first administered in the 1985 GSS. It covers that instrument’s origins and subsequent use in both substantive and methodological research. Substantive studies show how networks vary by (e.g.) age, socioeconomic standing, gender and residential setting, and offer suggestive evidence about how they shape outcomes including well-being, political activity, and sociopolitical attitudes. Methodological studies reveal that the important matters name generator can be sensitive to several aspects of survey settings, and call for care in its administration.

Keywords

aggregated relational datacore networkegocentric networkGeneral Social Survey (GSS)global itemname generatormeasurementname interpreterposition generatorsurvey
Type
Chapter
Information
Personal Networks
Classic Readings and New Directions in Egocentric Analysis
 , pp. 519 - 552
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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