The position generator in the NEPS.

Autor/inn/en	Schulz, Benjamin; Horr, Andreas; Hoenig, Kerstin
Institution	Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsverläufe
Titel	The position generator in the NEPS.
Quelle	Bamberg: LIfBi Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsverläufe (2017), 45 S. PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Reihe	NEPS Survey paper. 23
Beigaben	Literaturangaben
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Monographie; Graue Literatur
Schlagwörter	Bildungsniveau; Soziale Beziehung; Soziale Interaktion; Bestimmung; Soziales Netzwerk; Sozialkapital; Berufsstand; Position; Profession; NEPS (National Educational Panel Study)
Abstract	The position generator is an established survey instrument to measure the status composition of actors' egocentric social networks. This paper sets forth the theoretical background of the position generator by providing a brief overview of social capital theory and the mechanisms through which social capital can affect educational outcomes. Against this background, it details the version of the position generator implemented in all NEPS starting cohorts. The NEPS position generator is intended to measure respondents' social resources by giving a range of 13 professions and asking respondents whether they personally know someone who pursues this profession and if so, about the ethnic background of this person. We analyzed the scientific use files of four NEPS starting cohorts to test the reliability and validity of the instrument and to describe corresponding distributions. Results show that the instrument performs well over all starting cohorts. We found consistent differences between migrants' and natives' social networks in terms of number of contacts, mean status composition and ethnic composition of the network. Likewise, respondents' occupational status is associated with their social network's status composition. Finally, we examined changes in network composition over a four-year span and found that networks do change over time, with a propensity to increase as respondents age and advance in their careers. We are confident that the position generator is well suited to measure differences in respondents' social capital and to examine inter-group differences (Orig.).
Erfasst von	DIPF \| Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsforschung und Bildungsinformation, Frankfurt am Main
Update	2020/2