Egocentric social networks and social interactions in the Greater Tokyo Area

Abstract

This article presents the results of a survey on egocentric social networks in the Greater Tokyo Area. This is, together with our preliminary study, the first study on egocentric social network in Japan that uses an unrestricted name generator to elicit personal networks. It is comparable to previous work conducted in Europe (Switzerland and The Netherlands) and The Americas (Canada and Chile). In addition to a thorough description of the survey design and execution process, basic results regarding network characteristics and social interaction patterns, and estimation results of a multilevel multivariate mixed effect model of social contact frequency by mode are presented and compared against relevant benchmark data. The information provided in this article and the supplementary documents will allow its use as a new benchmark study in the subject of social networks and social interactions research.