Data collection refers to the collection of an offline social network. The information about a particular community is collect. A group needs to be defined (boundaries), which may be easy (e.g. school class or company) or difficult (e.g. needle-sharing).

Complete network data

A group with clear boundaries, such as a formal group or organisation. All information is collected, either by a roster (e.g. class list) or by a name generator (e.g. each person lists their contacts).

Snowball-sampled network

A population of unknown size or unclear boundaries. A step-wise sampling technique is applied to reveal larger parts of the network until the sample is large enough.

Ego-centered network data

Samples of individuals and their personal relationships structure. For instance, a person mentions their friends (ego-alter relations) and optionally the relation amongst them (or even others; alter-alter relations) .

Informed consent and ethics

For any data collection, the individuals need to be informed about the goals of the study and must be able to withdraw. A participant must be aware that she/he is studied. The data collected furthermore must be anonymous. This is increasingly difficult in social network analysis as the names of people are intrinsic to the analysis. Keeping the personal data secure and separate from results.