The network is personal : Introduction to a special issue of Social Networks

We practice personal network analysis every day. Each of us is the center of our own universe. We know who our friends are, how they are connected to each other, and what kinds of sociability, help, and information they might provide—from the 1–5 very strong ties that we feel closest with to the 200–2000 acquaintances whom we barely know (Boissevain, 1974; Wellman, 1979; Bernard et al., 1984; McCarty et al., 2001; McPherson et al., 2006). We reckon what network capital is available from people who can help us (Sik and Wellman, 1999; Kadushin, 2004). We even have some knowledge about the friends of our friends – that Kathy knows Wayne Gretzky. Although we do not have full maps, social networking software is making it easier to link us to friends of friends. Personal network analysts usually want to know which types of people are in such network (are they composed mostly of kin or friends?), what kinds of relationships they contain (strong or weak ties; frequent or infrequent contact?), and what kinds of resources flow through different kinds of networks (do kin provide more emotional support than friends?).1 These research interests affect how analysts define populations, approach gathering data, and obtain information. Where whole network analysts typically concentrate on uncovering the structure and composition of one big network, personal network analysts usually study a sample of many smaller personal networks: the worlds according to Muhammad, Dick, and Harriet. Analysts want to identify ties wherever they lead, without being confined to groups, neighborhoods or organizations.2

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