Social Network Research Project using Collaborative Data Collection

Abstract

In a series of assignments spanning two semester-long courses, students propose research, collect data, and analyze findings to complete an ego-network-based study. Students are provided with a survey that uses several common methods of collecting ego network data (name generators, name interpreters, position generators, resource generators) and includes...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Social Networks

Resource Type(s):

Assignment

Class Level(s):

College 300

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

* The assignments span two courses —a large 3rd year course and a much smaller 4th year course. The proposal portion of the assignment can be used for a class of any size, but the research project would be unmanageable in a large course.
* These assignments could easily be adapted to a single year-long course, provided the course size was sufficiently...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. 1. Develop a deeper understanding of social network survey methods than can be gleaned from reading journal articles.
2. 2. Ask sociological questions and develop hypotheses from a social network perspective
3. 3. Analyze social network data, interpret and present findings.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Goal 1. Assessed from the research proposal and final paper. Assessment is possible even from the proposal because just thinking about how to go from survey to data to findings requires students to think deeply about the survey.
2. Goal 2. Assessed from the research proposal and final paper.
3. Goal 3. Assessed from the final paper.