Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Common visualization strategies used in the spontaneous representation of the personal network_
| Strategy | n | % | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groups | 56 | 62.9 | The respondent draws a line or a circle in which he/she groups a subset of people belonging to the same category (e.g. “housemates,” “family,” “friends from work,” “flamenco colleagues,” etc.) |
| List of names | 27 | 30.3 | The interpersonal environment is summarized through a list of contacts. Names tend to be elicited through association and it is common that contacts with a similar relationship (e.g. siblings) have a close position to each other in the drawing |
| Ego’s star or ego’s tree | 20 | 22.5 | It consists of representing ego in the center of the graph and drawing around his direct contacts. Links between alters are rare, if there are any. We have called “relationships tree” those cases in which, from the direct relationship with ego, other branches of indirect relationships emerge |
| Nodes and relationships | 10 | 11.2 | A graph is drawn, composed of a set of individual nodes and the relationships they maintain between them |
| Concentric circles | 6 | 6.7 | The most important relationships are drawn in the center of the graph and around them concentric circles of decreasing relative importance are shown successively |
| Artistic representation | 6 | 6.7 | In some cases, respondents opted for creative drawings to represent metaphorically the characteristics of the personal network |
| Geographical position | 4 | 4.5 | Some respondents draw the distribution of their contacts according to the geographical location of alters. For instance, in our study, given it is based on a sample of people who have changed their place of residence, alters were placed between the home country and the host country |
| Diagram or organization chart | 4 | 4.5 | A schema is represented that organizes the personal contacts following some system of hierarchical classification, or imitating the structure of an organizational chart |
Four visualization displays to gathering data of personal networks_
| Display | Description | Advantages |
|---|---|---|
| Free hand spontaneous drawing | Respondents draw their network on a blank paper or a screen, with little instruction | Easy to prepare and set up. |
| Concentric circles | Several concentric circles differing in size are used to guide the respondent in placing alters in different circles, around ego | Easy to set up and easy to use |
| Location maps | Respondents use real maps to depict movement within a given location or to identify significant places within a location | Maps are easy to use and respondents do not need much instruction on how to use them |
| Name boxes | Consists of providing specific name boxes for respondents to list their alters | Enables respondents to list alters in a specific order |
Qualitative description of personal networks_
| Strategies | Description | Implications |
|---|---|---|
| Concentric circles | Comments are organized in segments of relative importance, from the inside out | Center-periphery logic |
| Relative importance of individuals | The role of alters with greater centrality and intermediation stands out | Strong ties |
| Groups | Subsets of alternatively densely connected are identified | Social circles |
| Isolates | An explanation is often given to explain why certain nodes are isolated | Accessibility to alternative social circles |