Do you know My Friend? Attending to the Accuracy of Egocentered Network Data

Abstract

I evaluate the accuracy with which respondents report egocentered network data. I find that 72% of the time ego’s assessment of the tie between a pair of alters corresponded with both alters’ report of the tie between themselves, and 87% of the time, ego’s report of the tie between a pair of alters is in agreement with at least one of the alters. I discuss the implications of the findings for the debate over the merits of egocentered network data.

Citation

McEvily, B. (2014), "Do you know My Friend? Attending to the Accuracy of Egocentered Network Data", Contemporary Perspectives on Organizational Social Networks (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 40), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 295-313. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X(2014)0000040015