Social networks

A social network is a defined set of units connected by social ties. The units can be individuals, groups, organisations, etc., and the social ties are the relationships (social, business, intimate, etc.) between them.

In the design of an online survey, networks are composed of units that are assessed by the respondent on the basis of the same questions. For this purpose, 1KA offers the option of a special survey type 'Social Networks', which you can enable in the 'EDIT' - 'Settings' - 'Advanced modules' tab before editing the questionnaire.

When you enable the 'Social networks' module, you will also see a further description of the functionality and links to examples in the questionnaire library. Additionally, after activation of the module, the 'SN-Names' question type will appear in the 'EDIT' - 'Questionnaire' tab among all the question types, under 'Advanced Features'.

The 'SN-Names' question type is placed first or before the loop, as it is used to indicate the names of all the entities to which the respondent is socially connected in some way (friends, family, business partners, etc.). In the questionnaire itself, by clicking on 'Add new contact', respondents add people from their network to whom the questions below, which are inserted in the loop, will apply. They can add as many people as they like, but of course the question can also be changed to ask for other variables, such as countries they have been to, etc.

The list of names must be followed by a Loop, which can be found among all the question types, under 'Advanced Features'. The loop allows you to repeat a question or multiple questions according to the answers to the previous question, in our case according to the variables that the respondent will provide via the 'SN-Names' question. In the loop, you select the first question or variable 'SN-Names' from the drop-down list, then add in all the questions that will be generated for each person listed by the respondents in the 'SN-Names' question.

In this way, respondents use the name generator to create their network, and the questions in the loop collect the information of interest about their network.

For easier understanding, please see the following example >>, which can also be accessed via the questionnaire library >> ('1KA example questionnaires' - '1KA survey templates' - 'Example - Social Networks') and can be copied as the basis of your own social network questionnaire.

The functionality is available for users of the 3KA package for individuals, and for users of the business packages for groups.