Question-order effects in social network name generators

Social network surveys are an important tool for empirical research in a variety of fields, including the study of social capital and the evaluation of educational and social policy. A growing body of methodological research sheds light on the validity and reliability of uni-dimensional social network survey data, but much less attention has been paid to the measurement of multi-dimensional networks and the validity of dimensional comparisons. In this paper, we identify ways that surveys designed to collect multi-dimensional social network data might be vulnerable to question-order effects, then test several hypotheses using a split-ballot experiment embedded in an online multiple name generator survey of teachers’ advice networks. We conclude by discussing implications for the design of multiple-name generator social network surveys.