| We are happy to announce we are now accepting abstracts for presentation at the UC Berkeley Social Networks Symposium. Keynote address by Brea Perry, Associate Vice Provost for Social Sciences, Professor of Sociology, Indiana University. This brief two-day meeting (August 6-7, 2020) is for researchers interested in examining longitudinal data on ego-centric networks. It will be held virtually on Zoom just before the originally scheduled American Sociological Association 2020 conference. The event will be from approximately 9 AM PDT to 2 PM PDT each day. There will be a break for lunch and to be away from the screen, but the Zoom meeting will remain open during that time for networking. Register for the event and, if desired, sign up for Breakout Sessions even if you have registered previously. Also, this Symposium is free to attend and open to all who are interested, but they must be registered to receive the Zoom link and password. Please forward this email to those in your network who may be interested in attending. You must register by August 3rd. You may still register for the symposium and sign up for breakout groups(limited availability in order to ensure participation). The final program is HERE |
| Using Longitudinal Ego-Centric Data for Networks and Health Research Personal network characteristics, including the structure, composition, and function of the relationships we hold with family members and friends are important for health. Yet, the existing body of literature draws primarily from cross-sectional data. The recent completion of publicly available panel data collected by major network studies (NSHAP, UCNets, and LASA) has presented a prime opportunity for investigators to convene and discuss ways to approach the many challenges of causal inference approaches of ego-centric network and health data, including issues such as reciprocal causation and attrition. As such, the primary aim of this event is to bring together leading experts and researchers who are interested in personal networks and health to discuss current research and consult on best practices for approaching longitudinal analysis of egocentric network panel data. An additional goal is to promote collaboration among existing project teams and their research. Investigators from these teams will provide examples whereby findings from one project will have direct implications for the framing and analysis of others. |
| Symposium Format To adjust for the remote conference format, we are offering the following structure: Presentations: We anticipate having 6-7 talks, each in the range of about 15-25 minutes, grouped into 3 panels, with time for a Q&A session. Abstracts should be no longer than 500 words and should describe the data set you will use. Break Out Rooms: For a limited number of participants, we will convene small breakout groups of up to 5 people to discuss topics of interest. Groups will have topics, goals and a coordinator who also will serve as a subject matter expert. We are asking for topic requests and are also issuing a call for coordinators. We expect some of the speakers will be coordinators. Even if you don’t present, it would be great if you would consider ‘hosting’ one of these sessions. The goal would be to group individuals interested in conversing on a particular topic, which could either be substantive, or perhaps about a specific data set or methodological approach/challenge, etc. Ideally, this would be a great time for early career people to introduce their research, network with others interested in similar topics, and/or receive feedback on a paper. Keynote: One keynote presentation, likely toward the end of the conference, will help us to wrap up some of the various challenges and a plan for the road ahead. |
Call for Abstracts and Participation (due July 1st, 2020) If you have experience with longitudinal analysis of ego-centric network data, we invite you to present on your work, including the challenges you have faced using panel data. If you are interested in conversing on these topics, we invite you to host or join one of our Breakout Rooms. Finally, let us know if you’re simply interested in attending and would like to receive a Zoom invite to join the symposium. Click on the ‘Sign Up Here’ button below to submit an abstract or to express interest in attending. All forms are due on July 1st, 2020. |
| Sign Up Here |
| In all, we hope this will be an opportunity for network and health researchers to convene, introduce, and learn more about one another’s work this summer. While nothing replaces the synergy of an annual conference, and especially traveling to a fun city to meet with new and old colleagues, we hope this symposium can serve as a bridge to keep discussions flowing and minds engaged in these topics until the next time we can meet in person. For any questions, please contact Dr. Stephanie Child at schild@berkeley.edu We look forward to hearing from and seeing you in August. All the best from the UCNets team, Stephanie Child, Leora Lawton, and Claude Fischer |