The "small world of the university" experiment is now complete. 14
undergraduate students and 8 graduate students started the experiment
with packages intended for 2 different targets. Folders started by 7 of
the graduate students and 4 of the undergraduates successfully reached
the targets.
You can view a graph of the folder paths here. This graph was generated using NodeXL. Additional graphs and the results of the group work (part 2 of the assignment) can be found on blackboard.
The instructions for part 2 (the in class group portion) of this assignment can be found here.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The due date for part 3 of this assignment has been moved to April 23 at 1:30pm. The assignment is worth 12% of your final course grade.
Part 3 (handout):
Make sure you have a copy of the completed part 2 group worksheet for both targets.
Read the following article:
Stevenson, William B., Barbara Davidson, Ivan Manev and Kate Walsh. 1997. The Small World of the University: A Classroom Exercise in the Study of Networks. Connections 20(2): 23-33.
Taking into account your own experience with this experiment and the aggregate results for both target persons, discuss the findings of the "Small World of the University Experiment" in a blog post of 1250-2000 words. As part of your discussion, refer back to your questions and hypotheses posted in response to Part I of this assignment. Are the findings consistent with your expectations? What would be expected based on the class readings? Make sure to explicitly address and reference relevant class readings (including the article by Stevenson et al.).
You can view a graph of the folder paths here. This graph was generated using NodeXL. Additional graphs and the results of the group work (part 2 of the assignment) can be found on blackboard.
The instructions for part 2 (the in class group portion) of this assignment can be found here.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The due date for part 3 of this assignment has been moved to April 23 at 1:30pm. The assignment is worth 12% of your final course grade.
Part 3 (handout):
Make sure you have a copy of the completed part 2 group worksheet for both targets.
Read the following article:
Stevenson, William B., Barbara Davidson, Ivan Manev and Kate Walsh. 1997. The Small World of the University: A Classroom Exercise in the Study of Networks. Connections 20(2): 23-33.
Taking into account your own experience with this experiment and the aggregate results for both target persons, discuss the findings of the "Small World of the University Experiment" in a blog post of 1250-2000 words. As part of your discussion, refer back to your questions and hypotheses posted in response to Part I of this assignment. Are the findings consistent with your expectations? What would be expected based on the class readings? Make sure to explicitly address and reference relevant class readings (including the article by Stevenson et al.).
