---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 09:42:48 -0400 From: Barry Wellman <wellman@chass.utoronto.ca> To: taryn ferris <taryn.ferris.hands.project@googlemail.com>, social networks list <socnet@lists.ufl.edu> Subject: viral sampling Taryn, What you're doing is called "snowball sampling" and has been around for about 30 years in sociology -- altho not widely used there. Some key authors to search for are Bonnie Erickson and Ove Frank. (Bonnie is "near" you for a few months in Japan, so you might want to talk with her by phone. She knows more than me.) The only online use I know of, for a different purpose, is Duncan Watts and colleagues at Columbia Sociology, who did a small-world study whose object was to trace the snowballing itself as an indicator of connectivity. Good luck, Barry Wellman _______________________________________________________________________ S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC NetLab Director Department of Sociology University of Toronto 725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388 Toronto Canada M5S 2J4 http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman fax:+1-416-978-3963 Updating history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php Elvis wouldn't be singing "Return to Sender" these days **** PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESS AND FAX NUMBER **** _______________________________________________________________________