The DOI matches its Crossref record; 17 of the 17 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The 2004 GSS Finding of Shrunken Social Networks: An Artifact?
Abstract
McPherson, Smith-Lovin, and Brashears (2006, 2008b) reported that Americans' social networks shrank precipitously from 1985 to 2004. When asked to list the people with whom they discussed “important matters,” respondents to the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS) provided about one-third fewer names than did respondents in the 1985 survey. Critically, the percentage of respondents who provided no names at all increased from about 10 percent in 1985 to about 25 percent in 2004. The 2004 results contradict other relevant data, however, and they contain serious anomalies; this suggests that the apparently dramatic increase in social isolation is an artifact. One possible source of the artifact is the section of the 2004 interview preceding the network question; it may have been unusually taxing. Another possible source is a random technical error. With as yet no clear account for these inconsistencies and anomalies, scholars should be cautious in using the 2004 network data. Scholars and general readers alike should draw no inference from the 2004 GSS as to whether Americans' social networks changed substantially between 1985 and 2004; they probably did not.
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Cites
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Self-citationSocial Isolation in America: Changes in core discussion networks over two decades.
McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Brashears, M. E. (2006) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.1177/000312240607100301 · Cited by 1,887
Bargh, J. A., & McKenna, K. Y. A. (2004) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141922 · Cited by 1,307
Bowling Alone: The Collapse And Revival Of American Community
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The Social Connectedness of Older Adults: A National Profile
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Self-citationA Re-Evaluation of the Economic Consequences of Divorce
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Metadata
- Authors
- Fischer, C. S.
- Venue
- American Sociological Review
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2009-08
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 657-669
- ISSN
- 0003-1224 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-8271
- OpenAlex
- W2060717389
- Cited by
- 259
- References
- 17
- FWCI
- 32.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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