GENSI: A new graphical tool to collect ego-centered network data |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Utrecht University/ICS, Padualaan 14, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands;2. Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, United States;1. Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Macau, China;2. Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Macau, China;1. Institute for Sociology Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary;2. MTA TK ‘Lendület’ Research Center for Educational and Network Studies (RECENS), Hungary;3. Corvinus University of Budapest, Institute of Sociology and Social Policy, Hungary;4. ETH Zürich, Chair of Social Networks, Switzerland;1. Chern Institute of Mathematics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China;2. Chern Institute of Mathematics and LPMC, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China;3. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Imaging Technology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China;1. Department of Media and Information, Michigan State University, United States;2. Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom;3. School of Information, University of Michigan, United States;4. College of Information Studies, University of Maryland, United States;1. Institute of Mathematics, Linköping University, SE-58183 Linköping, Sweden;2. Institute of Mathematics, University of Rostock, D-18051 Rostock, Germany |
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| Abstract: | This study (1) tested the effectiveness of a new survey tool to collect ego-centered network data and (2) assessed the impact of giving people feedback about their network on subsequent responses. The new tool, GENSI (Graphical Ego-centered Network Survey Interface), allows respondents to describe all network contacts at once via a graphical representation of their networks. In an online experiment, 434 American adults were randomly assigned to answer traditional network questions or GENSI and were randomly assigned to receive feedback about their network or not. The traditional questionnaire and GENSI took the same amount of time to complete, and measurements of racial composition of the network showed equivalent convergent validity in both survey tools. However, the new tool appears to solve what past researchers have considered to be a problem with online administration: exaggerated numbers of network connections. Moreover, respondents reported enjoying GENSI more than the traditional tool. Thus, using a graphical interface to collect ego-centered network data seems to be promising. However, telling respondents how their network compared to the average Americans reduced the convergent validity of measures administered after the feedback was provided, suggesting that such feedback should be avoided. |
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| Keywords: | Ego-centered networks Software Data collection Graphical interface Online surveys |
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