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Towards a General Typology of Personal Network Structures

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  • González-Casado, Miguel A.
  • Molina, Jose Luis
  • Sánchez, Angel

Abstract

In this study, we aim to uncover the fundamental dimensions of structural variability in Personal Networks (PNs) and develop a classification solely based on these structural properties. We address the limitations of previous literature and lay the foundation for a rigorous methodology to develop a robust, unbiased Structural Typology of PNs. We find a way to effectively describe the structural variability of PNs in terms of six basic dimensions encompassing community and cohesive subgroup structure, as well as levels of cohesion, hierarchy, and centralization. Furthermore, we categorize PNs into eight types, and interpret them structurally. We assess the robustness and generality of our typology. To encourage its adoption and support future research, we provide a publicly available Python class, enabling researchers to utilize our methodology and test the universality of the proposed typology.

Suggested Citation

  • González-Casado, Miguel A. & Molina, Jose Luis & Sánchez, Angel, 2023. "Towards a General Typology of Personal Network Structures," SocArXiv 23efd, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:23efd
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/23efd
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Maya-Jariego, Isidro & Letina, Srebrenka & González Tinoco, Elena, 2020. "Personal networks and psychological attributes: Exploring individual differences in personality and sense of community and their relationship to the structure of personal networks," Network Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 168-188, June.
    2. Katherine L. Fiori & Toni C. Antonucci & Kai S. Cortina, 2006. "Social Network Typologies and Mental Health Among Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(1), pages 25-32.
    3. Sónia Guadalupe & Henrique Testa Vicente, 2022. "Types of Personal Social Networks of Older Adults in Portugal," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 445-466, April.
    4. Elvira Pelle & Roberta Pappadà, 2021. "A clustering procedure for mixed-type data to explore ego network typologies: an application to elderly people living alone in Italy," Statistical Methods & Applications, Springer;Società Italiana di Statistica, vol. 30(5), pages 1507-1533, December.
    5. Vacca, Raffaele, 2020. "Structure in personal networks: Constructing and comparing typologies," Network Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 142-167, June.
    6. John Horn, 1965. "A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 30(2), pages 179-185, June.
    7. Molina, José Luis & García-Macías, Alejandro & Lubbers, Miranda J. & Valenzuela-Garcia, Hugo, 2020. "The embeddedness of social capital in personal networks," Network Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 189-203, June.
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