Evolution of students’ friendship networks: Examining the influence of group size

 The main aim of this study was to examine the effect of the network size on formation and evolution of students’ friendship relations. Data was collected from two groups of sociology freshmen: a group from the University of Belgrade, which represents a larger group, and a group from the University...

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Autores principales: Valentina Sokolovska, Aleksandar Tomašević, Bojana Dinić, Isidora Jarić
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FR
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Publicado: University of Belgrade 2017
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/3df6f0d945ae4a03812fe33f43834081
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:3df6f0d945ae4a03812fe33f438340812021-12-02T02:11:33ZEvolution of students’ friendship networks: Examining the influence of group size10.21301/eap.v11i4.100353-15892334-8801https://doaj.org/article/3df6f0d945ae4a03812fe33f438340812017-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://eap-iea.org/novi-ojs/index.php/eap/article/view/713https://doaj.org/toc/0353-1589https://doaj.org/toc/2334-8801 The main aim of this study was to examine the effect of the network size on formation and evolution of students’ friendship relations. Data was collected from two groups of sociology freshmen: a group from the University of Belgrade, which represents a larger group, and a group from the University of Novi Sad, which represents a smaller group. The data was collected in three periods of one academic year. We analyzed the structural features of students’ networks and constructed a stochastic model of network evolution in order to explore how friendships form and change during one year. The results showed that structural features of the larger and the smaller group differ in each stage of friendship formation. At the beginning of group forming, small world structure was noticeable in the larger group, although full small world structure was not confirmed in both groups. Furthermore, transitivity of triads had effect on the evolution of the larger network, while balance or structural equivalence had effect on the evolution of the smaller network. Results of the structural analysis are in line with findings of the network evolution model and together they provide an insight into how friendship evolves in groups of different sizes.Valentina SokolovskaAleksandar TomaševićBojana DinićIsidora JarićUniversity of Belgradearticlesocial networksstudents’ friendship networknetwork evolutiongroup sizeAnthropologyGN1-890ENFRSREtnoantropološki Problemi, Vol 11, Iss 4 (2017)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
FR
SR
topic social networks
students’ friendship network
network evolution
group size
Anthropology
GN1-890
spellingShingle social networks
students’ friendship network
network evolution
group size
Anthropology
GN1-890
Valentina Sokolovska
Aleksandar Tomašević
Bojana Dinić
Isidora Jarić
Evolution of students’ friendship networks: Examining the influence of group size
description  The main aim of this study was to examine the effect of the network size on formation and evolution of students’ friendship relations. Data was collected from two groups of sociology freshmen: a group from the University of Belgrade, which represents a larger group, and a group from the University of Novi Sad, which represents a smaller group. The data was collected in three periods of one academic year. We analyzed the structural features of students’ networks and constructed a stochastic model of network evolution in order to explore how friendships form and change during one year. The results showed that structural features of the larger and the smaller group differ in each stage of friendship formation. At the beginning of group forming, small world structure was noticeable in the larger group, although full small world structure was not confirmed in both groups. Furthermore, transitivity of triads had effect on the evolution of the larger network, while balance or structural equivalence had effect on the evolution of the smaller network. Results of the structural analysis are in line with findings of the network evolution model and together they provide an insight into how friendship evolves in groups of different sizes.
format article
author Valentina Sokolovska
Aleksandar Tomašević
Bojana Dinić
Isidora Jarić
author_facet Valentina Sokolovska
Aleksandar Tomašević
Bojana Dinić
Isidora Jarić
author_sort Valentina Sokolovska
title Evolution of students’ friendship networks: Examining the influence of group size
title_short Evolution of students’ friendship networks: Examining the influence of group size
title_full Evolution of students’ friendship networks: Examining the influence of group size
title_fullStr Evolution of students’ friendship networks: Examining the influence of group size
title_full_unstemmed Evolution of students’ friendship networks: Examining the influence of group size
title_sort evolution of students’ friendship networks: examining the influence of group size
publisher University of Belgrade
publishDate 2017
url https://doaj.org/article/3df6f0d945ae4a03812fe33f43834081
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AT aleksandartomasevic evolutionofstudentsfriendshipnetworksexaminingtheinfluenceofgroupsize
AT bojanadinic evolutionofstudentsfriendshipnetworksexaminingtheinfluenceofgroupsize
AT isidorajaric evolutionofstudentsfriendshipnetworksexaminingtheinfluenceofgroupsize
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