A Procedure for Surveying Personal Networks

Abstract

The application of network analysis to certain issues in sociology requires measurement of individuals' personal networks. These issues generally involve the impact of structural locations on persons' social lives. One such case is the Northern California Community Study of the personal consequences of residential environments. This article describes and illustrates the methodology we have developed for studying personal networks by mass survey. It reviews the conceptual problems in network definition and measurement, assesses earlier efforts, presents our technique, and illustrates its applications.