Assessing Ego-Centered Social Networks in formr: A Tutorial

Abstract

In psychological science, ego-centered social networks are assessed to investigate the patterning and development of social relationships. In this approach, a focal individual is typically asked to report the people they interact with in specific contexts and to provide additional information on those interaction partners and the relationships with them. Although ego-centered social networks hold considerable promise for investigating various interesting questions from psychology and beyond, their implementation can be challenging. This tutorial provides researchers with detailed instructions on how to set up a study involving ego-centered social networks online using the open-source software formr. By including a fully functional study template for the assessment of social networks and extensions to this design, we hope to equip researchers from different backgrounds with the tools necessary to collect social-network data tailored to their research needs.