Bonnie H. Erickson

Applied Network Analysis: A Methodological Introduction.

Applied Network Analysis is a reference book on the methodology of network analysis -- the study of the structure of relations between people, groups or formal organizations. Illustrations from real research show the problems that arise in network analysis -- and how to resolve or avoid them. Primarily written by Burt and Minor, the book has the cohesion of a text while still using work from other leading network analysts.

Untangling the Roots of Tolerance How Forms of Social Capital Shape Attitudes Toward Ethnic Minorities and Immigrants

Past research suggests that tolerance flows from personal characteristics, diversified networks, and participation in voluntary associations. Earlier studies have never included all of these, so researchers have not explored alternative theoretical accounts of how possible causes of tolerance connect to each other and to tolerance. For example, do association members have more tolerance because association activities meet the conditions of the contact hypothesis,because members are well educated, or because association activity widens ones networks? Furthermore, both associations and social networks vary in the extent to which they provide the experiences theoretically linked to tolerance, so types of associations and types of networks should also have different effects on tolerance. Exploring these and other variations provides an enriched test of theoretical conjectures. Findings from analyses of the 2000 Canadian federal election study show that tolerance is complex, stemming from a combination of social networks, voluntary association activities, and individual attributes.

Applied network sampling

Abstract In principle, network sampling is an attractive method for estimating density and degree for large populations. This paper, based on the first extensive application of network sampling, reports some of the problems that may often arise in sampling and reaching respondents. The network sample or samples may be based on a list imperfectly reflecting the target population, the samples may be drawn nonrandomly from the list, and response may be nonrandom. We suggest and illustrate strategies for coping with each of these problems.

Network sampling in practice: Some second steps

Abstract Network sampling is a potentially invaluable method of studying density of large networks, but its feasibility in practice is largely unknown. Two pretests of a network sampling instrument in a favourable setting (a network with moderate size, high density, and cooperative respondents) with a relatively representative population are reported in this paper. The results indicate that network sampling is indeed viable in such settings. Some suggestions for successful applications are offered.

Network Diversity and Vote Choice: Women's Social Ties and Left Voting in Canada

Building on Mark Granovetters concept of weak ties, we argue that diverse social networks can enhance the propensity of women to vote for a party of the Left. Using data from the 2000 Canadian Election Study, we test two hypotheses: First, the wider the range of women known, the more likely women are to vote for the Left, and second, the wider the range of higher-status women known, the more likely married women are to vote for the Left. We argue that socially communicated cues may be particularly consequential for women because they tend to know less about the parties and their platforms than men do. Accordingly, casual acquaintances can be an important source of new information for women. Women with more diverse ties to other women, we argue, are more likely to encounter women who are voting for the party of the Left and to recognize their shared interest in voting similarly. Our second hypothesis builds on Susan Carrolls argument that women require sufficient autonomy to express their gender-related interests in their choice of party. We argue that married womens political autonomy can be enhanced if their social networks include a range of women who do enjoy such autonomy. Ties with higher-status women can be a source of psychological resources that facilitate voting for a party of the Left. We find support for both of these hypotheses.

Contact and Stereotyping in a Voluntary Association

Contact between social groups reduces prejudice and stereotyping - sometimes, depending on the nature of the contact and the setting. Voluntary association settings have been little explored. though they should often meet the contact hypothesis scope conditions. We analyze a large association in which the conditions can be checked unusually thoroughly and the conditions are met. We also use unusually refined measures of contact (derived from network analysis) and of age and gender stereotyping (derived from work on belief systems) and detailed hypotheses (derived from social cognition theory). No form of contact reduces stereotyping. Greater involvement in the subculture actually increases stereotyping. We argue that attention is a function of rank, so that our respondents notice the inequality of a tiny elite and ignore the equality of the far larger majority. These show results that the cognitive approach to social stereotyping should be combined with work on social structure and its implications for contact, inequality and attention. Stereotypes, Contact, Inequality, Social Networks.

Exceptions Are the Rule: An Inquiry into Methods in the Social Sciences.

Part 1 Numbers for religion and politics: lines, damned lines and statistics correlations and calculus the rule of safety - gamma is wrong. Part 2 Scatter analysis: big folks and small folks - the relation between height and weight democrats, republicans and independents - what is party identification? friends and relations time and money - the course of human events real mobility theory.