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Chasing shadows: defining network boundaries

Chasing shadows: defining network boundaries
Chasing shadows: defining network boundaries
Defining network boundaries is a key challenge in social network analysis. In our recent qualitative study of network influences on educational decision-making — based on interviews with 107 individuals from 16 case study networks — the set of members with whom interviews were secured in each case represented only a sub-set of the broader networks from which they were drawn. Following an introduction to our study and an outline of our approach, we consider some of the processes of filtering and selection that affected the specific composition of our network sample, and reflect upon what this tells us about the processes by which participants in network-based research make decisions about the representation of their networks within research contexts. We then explore the question of whether the partiality of our data actually matters, and conclude that it reflects the permeable, partial and dynamic nature of social networks, characteristics which are central to qualitatively-informed understandings of SNA.
1468-7941
645-661
Heath, Sue
f4df85b4-fdde-4353-8641-08a4b9fbbcae
Fuller, Alison
c6b47796-05b5-4548-b67e-2ca2f2010fef
Johnston, Brenda
19367bd6-ac46-4e33-a352-ace08c2d4323
Heath, Sue
f4df85b4-fdde-4353-8641-08a4b9fbbcae
Fuller, Alison
c6b47796-05b5-4548-b67e-2ca2f2010fef
Johnston, Brenda
19367bd6-ac46-4e33-a352-ace08c2d4323

Heath, Sue, Fuller, Alison and Johnston, Brenda (2009) Chasing shadows: defining network boundaries. Qualitative Research, 9 (5), 645-661. (doi:10.1177/1468794109343631).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Defining network boundaries is a key challenge in social network analysis. In our recent qualitative study of network influences on educational decision-making — based on interviews with 107 individuals from 16 case study networks — the set of members with whom interviews were secured in each case represented only a sub-set of the broader networks from which they were drawn. Following an introduction to our study and an outline of our approach, we consider some of the processes of filtering and selection that affected the specific composition of our network sample, and reflect upon what this tells us about the processes by which participants in network-based research make decisions about the representation of their networks within research contexts. We then explore the question of whether the partiality of our data actually matters, and conclude that it reflects the permeable, partial and dynamic nature of social networks, characteristics which are central to qualitatively-informed understandings of SNA.

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Published date: 2009

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 69336
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/69336
ISSN: 1468-7941
PURE UUID: 1b426250-184d-4123-8da2-bf9a3e8432a4

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Date deposited: 04 Nov 2009
Last modified: 13 Mar 2024 19:30

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Contributors

Author: Sue Heath
Author: Alison Fuller
Author: Brenda Johnston

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