This dataset was constructed based on waves 1 and 2 of the NELLS panel. The NELLS survey contained ego-network questions in both waves. These questions asked respondents to list up to 5 alters with whom they discussed important personal matters (i.e., measurement of the core discussion network). Follow-up questions asked about personal characteristics of these alters. We used the original data file with the names of all alters listed (obtained from the panels' administrators) in wave 1 and wave 2 to match the data from both waves. Based on name similarity and personal characteristics, we coded whether an alter in wave 2 was also named in wave 1, whether an alter was only listed in wave 1, or whether an alter was new in wave 2. The resulting dataset had 5312 respondents with 10896 alter relations. 3284 of these were listed in both waves, 3421 only in wave 1, and 4191 only in wave 2.
The dataset was used to analyze changes in core discussion networks as a result of social media use. An article based on these analyses has been published in New Media and Society: Vriens, E. & Van Ingen, E. (2017). Does the rise of the Internet bring erosion of strong ties? Analyses of social media use and changes in core discussion networks. New Media & Society, 1(1): 1-18.
The archive contains the dataset of both waves (2008 and 2013) of the NELLS panel (open access, available via DANS KNAW), the dataset with personal identifiers of the alters (closed access), and the constructed dataset that contains a variable indicating whether the alters were present in both waves or not (restricted access, available from the authors upon request.
