Deck 13: Social Network Analysis

Question 1

Which social network would we expect to have the MOST heterogeneous composition?

A)members of a local Lutheran church
B)students at a high school
C)smartphone users
D)professional sociologists

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Social scientists conducting social network analysis

A)always use quantitative methods,because data sets are so large.
B)pick and choose from a family of methods,including both quantitative and qualitative.
C)almost always conduct research online,because larger networks are accessible online.
D)may study large groups,small groups,or just one person.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A directed network tie is one in which

A)a relationship is heavily shaped by a social institution such as prison,school,or religion.
B)one person directly establishes a relationship with another person.
C)reciprocity may or may not occur.
D)a researcher establishes a relationship between two social actors for the sake of a study.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A sociologist studies cohesion at a high school,using network density as a measure of cohesion.Accordingly,the sociologist considers

A)how many closed triads exist.
B)the proportion of possible connections that are actually realized.
C)the intensity of reciprocity between friends and triads.
D)geodesic distance.

Question 5

How does the Oracle of Bacon demonstrate Stanley Milgram's 1967 findings?

A)Any two strangers are connected through just a few friends.
B)Most ordinary people are related to celebrities,but don't know it.
C)Social networks prevent people from building friendships outside their groups.
D)Social stratification influences how friendships and social relationships are built.

Question 6

Dr.Kline studies sexually transmitted diseases.He is generating a social network analysis of people who could possibly be infected by a particular disease.He wants to map nondirected network ties,so he asks people whether

A)they have had sex with others in the network.
B)their sexual activity constituted a reciprocal relationship.
C)one person initiated the sexual relationship.
D)anyone directed them toward particular sexual partners.

Question 7

Elena studies friendship among young adults.Based on established findings in social network research,she expects to find that attraction and mutual influence are stronger when

A)one friend is dominant and one is subordinate.
B)a dyadic friendship includes a third person,becoming a triad.
C)the friendship has strong reciprocity.
D)the friends also have nondirected network ties.

Question 8

Stanley Milgram's 1967 study found that people are related through "six degrees of separation." Studying the steps people must take to reach others in their networks is called

A)network density.
B)the clustering coefficient.
C)the Oracle of Bacon.
D)geodesic distance.

Question 9

A social network must include both ________ and ________.

A)social actors;relations between them
B)real-world interactions;online interactions
C)historical data about a group;contemporary data about the same group
D)well-connected social actors;loners

Question 10

Network density is one way of studying

A)cohesion.
B)diffusion.
C)heterogeneity.
D)network size.

Question 11

Marie plans a social network analysis of a town in Vermont.She plans to study the connections between unemployed persons,employed persons,employers,and businesses.Her adviser encourages her to study

A)only the people,because businesses cannot be considered social actors.
B)all these groups,because all of them are considered social actors.
C)only employed persons and employers,because neither businesses nor unemployed persons are social actors in relationship with employed persons and employers.
D)only one of these groups,because social network analysis can only include one set of social actors.

Question 12

Which of the following represents a dense network,and why?

A)the human species,because there are so many individuals in the species
B)a megacity,because population density is so high
C)a high school,because there are so many ties between social actors
D)a professional conference of teachers,because the social actors are so similar to one another

Question 13

When used as a concept in sociological research,a clique must include

A)people under the age of 25.
B)a small group of social actors who exclude others.
C)three people who are all directly connected to each other.
D)homogeneity of social class,race,or ethnicity.

Question 14

Emily studied diffusion within a large multiethnic,multilingual suburb in Wisconsin.Her study confirmed established sociological findings about diffusion.She observed diffusion when people

A)formed cliques within the larger network.
B)shared information most willingly and rapidly within their own ethnic and language groups.
C)shared information willingly and rapidly across cultural and language differences.
D)relied on direct network ties to learn new information.

Question 15

What determines node placement in a social network diagram?

A)the number of people symbolized by the node
B)Nodes that are linked are placed closer together.
C)the postal address of the person represented by the node
D)Placement is mathematically random,so it doesn't affect analysis.

Question 16

Juan conducts a social network analysis of language students at his college.He finds that Spanish language students have strong friendships with Chinese language students,and Spanish language students have strong friendships with French language students,but Chinese language students and French language students are not very connected to each other.Juan concludes that this social network constitutes a(n)

A)open triad.
B)closed triad.
C)inactive triad.
D)nodal interaction.

Question 17

When social network analysts diagram networks,how do they represent nodes?

A)Bidirectional arrows represent nodes,which are mutual ties between people.
B)The regions with the most circles and arrows represent nodes,which are hubs of social activity.
C)Each circle represents a node,which is a social actor.
D)The dotted lines that form a circle represent a node,which is a web of social life within a larger network.

Question 18

ABC Bowling celebrates friendship and reciprocity among its league bowlers,but the adult bowling leagues have very few social ties to the youth bowling league.There is a ________ between these two groups within the same network.

A)anti-reciprocity
B)node
C)structural hole
D)negative equivalence

Question 19

Network size refers to

A)the geographic scope of the network.
B)the number of social actors in the network.
C)the number of ties a given actor has.
D)the degree to which the study includes different types of social actors.

Question 20

How do ties relate to nodes?

A)Ties and nodes are the same thing.
B)Nodes are human social actors;ties are institutional social actors.
C)Ties are links that connect the nodes in a social network.
D)Nodes are positive social links;ties are negative social links.

Question 21

Which two people have the strongest equivalence?

A)a person in China and a person in America,both of whom speak Chinese
B)two friends who work at the same company and exercise at the same health club
C)two people from different cultures,both of whom have strong "bridge" qualities
D)two friends with strong reciprocity

Question 22

A sociologist studies a social network in a local business association and finds that business owner Marjorie has the quality of centrality.Accordingly,the sociologist expects Marjorie to

A)have a higher number of alters in the local business district.
B)influence the flow of information and resources in the business association.
C)transfer her business networks into the political sphere.
D)have more emotionally close ties with others.

Question 23

Why is direct observation rarely used to collect social network data? Direct observation

A)used to be preferred,as in ethnographies of small societies,but it is less feasible with large populations.
B)does not reveal people's motivations or tie valences,and thus it does not produce useful data.
C)has been replaced by "big data" generated from people's digital lives.
D)cannot be reduced to matrix-based data organization.

Question 24

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA)is different than retrospective time-diary approaches because EMA

A)takes ecological context into consideration.
B)measures real-time data.
C)does not require participants to write by hand.
D)uses surveillance video to map human locations.

Question 25

Teodor designs a study in which he will use closeness centrality to analyze network actor characteristics in a large corporation.He considers how each actor in the corporation can

A)form a clique.
B)access other networks in a small number of steps.
C)diffuse information and resources across the corporation.
D)intentionally bridge structural holes.

Question 26

Dr.Collins designs an egocentric network study design that will analyze the networks of high-school principals in a regional association.In keeping with typical egocentric network studies,he chooses ________ principals as study participants.

A)1-3
B)3-10
C)10-15
D)15-30

Question 27

What is the biggest limitation of online social network data?

A)The digital divide limits the generalizability of these data.
B)People tend to form cliques with online social networks.
C)The data is being produced too quickly for scientists to gather or analyze.
D)Online social network data reveals very little about people's "offline" lives.

Question 28

Which of the following samples would be gathered for a two-mode network study of a high school?

A)students who are siblings
B)students of various grades
C)cafeteria workers,principals,and counselors
D)teachers and the Parent-Teacher Association

Question 29

In a matrix,a tie is represented by which symbol?

A)-
B)0
C)1
D)A

Question 30

Which type of centrality focuses on the extent to which an actor serves as an intermediary on the shortest paths between other pairs of actors in the network?

A)degree
B)closeness
C)betweenness
D)tie strength

Question 31

Two sociologists study juveniles in a delinquency center.One studies ________,so she considers how many ties a given juvenile has to other juveniles.The other studies ________,so she analyzes how a given juvenile can connect to other juveniles in a small number of steps.

A)well-connectedness;cliques
B)structural holes;bridges
C)centrality;equivalence
D)degree centrality;closeness centrality

Question 32

These hypothetical networks show that people who maintain weak ties often have what advantage? They

A)quickly accept strong ties when strong ties become available.
B)have a higher degree of centrality,which is associated with higher social status.
C)tend to have access to more distant regions of a network.
D)intensify strength in the few ties that they do have.

Question 33

A sociologist interviews James about his role in the social network of his small town.In this study,James is the

A)alter.
B)clique.
C)tie.
D)ego.

Question 34

Social network data are usually recorded and arranged in a rectangular array called a

A)social network.
B)chart.
C)matrix.
D)data organization system.

Question 35

Marie and Sarah are happy newlyweds,married one month ago.What would Georg Simmel predict about tie valence in this marriage,over time? It will become more

A)multiplex,involving both positively and negatively valenced relations.
B)negatively valenced.
C)positively valenced.
D)positively valenced,but only if Marie and Sarah maintain shared ties in their social networks.

Question 36

Researchers are more often interested in sociocentric network design than in egocentric network design because they

A)need to complete their study in a limited amount of time.
B)want to learn about the overarching social structure that exists in a given setting.
C)are interested in the network from the perspective of individual actors.
D)prefer quantitative research methods.

Question 37

What is ideal when asking an ego to generate a list of alters?

A)an exhaustive list,so the researcher can map the entire network
B)about 100 alters,so the researcher can map the network,but not be overwhelmed with data
C)about 5 alters,so the research can yield good results and still be completed in a cost-effective manner
D)2-3 alters,which allows for more egos to be included in a study

Question 38

Michon plans a social network study of a hospital.She specifies the boundaries by

A)choosing a hospital.
B)deciding to focus on surgeons at the hospital.
C)collecting data and diagramming the social network of surgeons.
D)selecting particular research methods.

Question 39

A sociologist interviews Janine,a librarian in a large university system.The sociologist asks Janine which other librarians she knows,and how well.In this study,the other librarians are the

A)egos.
B)ties.
C)alters.
D)networks.

Question 40

When a sociologist studies a network from the perspective of individual actors within the network,the sociologist has adopted a(n)________ network approach.

A)sociocentric
B)egocentric
C)centrality
D)sociological

Question 41

List one position generator.List one resource generator.What is the difference between them?

Question 42

A researcher writes a survey question that asks,"Who are you close to?" Emily,a respondent,lists the neighbors who live on her street.The researcher meant to ask about relational closeness,but Emily interpreted the word close geographically.This is an example of ________ bias.

A)instrument
B)recall
C)projection
D)selection

Question 43

Dr.Williams conducts a social network study of how parents express grief and receive support online following the death of a child.Dr.Williams is disappointed to find that selection bias strongly influenced the sample,as evidenced by the fact that the sample

A)is mostly affluent white parents in wealthy countries,because this population has disproportionate access to the Internet.
B)includes numerous "fake" participants who did not experience the death of a child.
C)is composed of people in Dr.Williams's own social network,those more likely to reply to his request to participate in the study.
D)offered memories that were more emotionally accurate than historically accurate,due to intense stress.

Question 44

A single composite measure that reflects generic information about a number of dimensions of one's social network,such as "connectedness" or "well-being," is called a

A)position generator.
B)two-mode network.
C)bridge.
D)social network index.

Question 45

Which of the following is a name interpreter?

A)a researcher trained to interpret lists of names given by respondents
B)a computer program that diagrams social networks
C)the question,"Who are your closest friends?"
D)the question,"Does [NAME] live in your neighborhood?"

Question 46

In a study of social support networks,which is the greater threat: recall bias or instrument bias? Explain why you think one is a greater threat than the other.

Question 47

Briefly describe a study you could conduct that would qualify as a social network analysis.Which quality of your study makes it a social network analysis?

Question 48

A researcher writes a survey question that asks,"Who was your favorite teacher?" Steven,a respondent,realizes after taking the survey that he listed his favorite college teachers,and not elementary school teachers.He wanted to finish the survey quickly,so he didn't search his childhood memories.This is an example of ________ bias.

A)instrument
B)recall
C)projection
D)selection

Question 49

Dr.Sanah studies structural holes and bridges in the social network of first-year college students.She uses a fixed-choice approach to name generation,so when she interviews Michael,a first-year college student,Dr.Sanah

A)asks Michael to make a list of all of Michael's friends who are first-year college students.
B)presents Michael with a list of first-year college students and asks Michael to circle those he knows.
C)presents Michael with a list of first-year college students and invites Michael to write more names on the list.
D)asks Michael to generate a list of all names and nicknames that refer to him.

Question 50

When conducting social network analysis,most researchers choose sociocentric network designs.Why would a researcher choose an egocentric network approach?

Question 51

Dr.Muir asks Lin,a respondent,for a list of her closest friends.Lin offers 20 names,and Dr.Muir asks four follow-up questions about each one.Dr.Muir next asks Lin about her closest family members and notices the training effect influencing the way Lin answers the question.Lin

A)uses the same 20 names.
B)interprets the word close in a different way than Dr.Muir intended it.
C)offers only five names,because she realizes that each name triggers numerous follow-up questions.
D)offers answers she believes Dr.Muir wants to hear.

Question 52

A survey question asks respondents,"Do your friends secretly binge eat?" This is a problematic question because it is prone to projection bias.This means respondents

A)may experience fatigue because the question causes discomfort,so they don't finish the survey.
B)may misinterpret words such as friends,secretly,and binge eat.
C)will lie about themselves,but tell the truth about others.
D)assume their friends are like they are,without certain knowledge of their friends' hidden behaviors.

Question 53

Hierarchical mapping techniques may ask a respondent to list names in concentric circles moving from ________ in the center to ________ in the outer rings.

A)bridging ties;equivalences
B)positive valences;negative valences
C)strong ties;weak ties
D)proper names;nicknames

Question 54

Which of the following questions is a common position generator?

A)How did you get your current job?
B)Do you know someone who is a surgeon?
C)Do you believe a person's occupation should influence his or her social position?
D)Who would you turn to in a time of financial need?

Question 55

You are conducting a study of college student friend networks.How would you use ecological momentary assessment in your study? First,define ecological momentary assessment.Then,explain how you would use it.

Question 56

You are conducting a study of intergenerational ties within a community (how children,adults,and elders are connected with one another across generations).How would a free-choice approach to data collection differ from a fixed-choice approach? Give an example of how each would work.

Question 57

What is one measure of the level of cohesion in a social network? Define and explain the measure.

Question 58

Resource generators are also referred to as exchange generators because these questions are concerned with how people

A)use social networks to exchange words,usually in digital form.
B)access resources through social networks.
C)generate income,wealth,and education.
D)exchange goods and services in the economy.

Question 59

List and describe two significant drawbacks of collecting social network data via electronic networks.

Question 60

Anneli designs a social network study that will measure how college students' employment networks change from first year to senior year.This study is designed to analyze

A)cliques.
B)position generators.
C)social network dynamics.
D)nondirected network ties.

Question 61

List two of the four sources of social network change.Briefly describe how you could study these two sources of change in a social network analysis of a high school.