Self identified ethnic students and Friendship Networks
Among Post-Graduate Students at a British University
John Stevens
Abstract
This paper follows a cohort of postgraduate students entering a Sociology department at a
university in South-Eastern England, observing how they formed support networks with
fellow students. The paper employs network analysis – an increasingly popular social research
technique which has rarely been applied to students. These students made acquaintances
quickly, and early contacts often formed the basis for larger social groups formed later in the
year. While the earliest contacts more often were with people of similar national or self
identified ethnic backgrounds, networks expanded, largely at events such as an away weekend
(called the graduate weekend)1 and support facilities organised within the Department. Parttime students made acquaintances more slowly than other students and generally had smaller
acquaintance networks and fewer total contacts in the department. Asian students readily
made friends with each other, but were slower than other groups to integrate within the main
core of other graduate students in the department
Introduction
This paper follows a cohort of postgraduate (including qualifying year, masters, first-year
Doctoral Programme and first-year PhD) students entering a Sociology department at a
university in South-Eastern England, observing how they formed support networks with
fellow students. The paper first briefly overviews the development of the network analysis
techniques used to study the development of contacts between students. Little literature has
applied this technique to look at students or mixed nationality and self identified ethnicity
groups, and this paper gives particular consideration to how this paper might contribute to this
literature. The paper finds that most students began developing networks quickly, though
these networks, at least initially, formed amidst groups with shared cultural backgrounds.
Part-time students formed less dense networks, partly on account of their more tangential
contact with the department. Students of Asian backgrounds formed the densest networks,
while those from Middle Eastern countries had the least dense networks.
Other work in the area
Network analysis has gained status as a legitimate field of social inquiry in its own right in the
last few decades. Whereas scholars developing the technique in the 1950s and 1960s regularly
noted that they rejected structural functionalism and sought to contribute toward a new
theoretical paradigm, scholars by the late 1980s proudly proclaimed the utility of examining the
structures of interaction and relations (Wellman and Berkowitz, 1988). Barry Wellman and S. D.
Berkowitz go so far as to proclaim that:
Although the structural analysis presented in this book fits comfortably into this
extended structuralist family, it is not simply an extension of other forms of
structuralism. It is distinguished from them by its focus on concrete social
The “graduate weekend” is a residential weekend held away from the department for
graduate students to present there own work and socialise
1
relations among specific social actors. Indeed, its emphasis on exchange puts it
closer to input-output economics and quantum physics than to Lćvi-Straussian
structuralism (1988, p. 5).
While the comparison to quantum physics may be something of an overstatement, network
analysis has developed into the examination of the structures of recurring relational ties which
link actors in a social system. The focus on the relations between members of a system
distinguishes this approach from other varieties of social investigation (Wasserman and Faust
1994: 4). Stanley Wasserman and Katherine Faust explain that:
In social network analysis the observed attributes of social actors (such as race or
ethnicity of people, or size or productivity of collective bodies such as
corporations or nation-states) are understood in terms of patterns or structures of
ties among the units. Relational ties among actors are primary and attributes of
actors are secondary (1994, p. 8).
Once one decides to focus on the network - systems of relations between actors (how dyads,
pairs and subgroups form and disintegrate within a social system, and how these structures
interact within the system), then assumptions of modelling of individual behaviour, or the use of
random samples to generalise to broader populations are no longer relevant (Wasserman and
Faust 1994, p. 21). Network analysis instead entails measurement of other features, as the degree
of interconnectedness among members, presence or absence and interaction of cliques, centrality
of dyads, triads or individuals in the system, among others. Most contemporary network analysis
tends to focus on one mode (a single set or system of actors) or two modes (two sets or systems
of actors, or one set or system of actors and one set of events in which the actors participate),
though some research has assessed more complex sets of interacting systems (Wasserman and
Faust, 1994, p. 29).
Researchers in the USA have undertaken a number of significant studies of student networks.
Hallinan and Williams studies a large sample of high school students, and asked the students to
nominate their three best friends at school. The authors note serious limitations with this
approach, as well-connected students would have to leave out many close friends under such
constraints, and the results gave the likely misleading impression that small schools have closer
friendship ties than large schools (1989: 71). These concerns aside, Hallinan and Williams found
confirming evidence that ties between students who nominate each other are more likely to be
stronger than instances where one party’s nomination is not reciprocated (1989: 77). These
authors also found that formal policies of racial integration backed by solid institutional support
were related to increased reporting of inter-racial friendships. These authors also added an
innovation in the study of dyads. In addition to examining mutual and asymmetrical dyads, they
also drew a random sample of dyads which could have occurred, but which were not reported,
for comparison against dyads that were recorded (1989: 70).
Newcomb and his fellow researchers found that while pairs and triad which formed in the first
week tended not to be stable, pairs and triads formed from the second week did tend to be
stable throughout the academic year. Students generally nominated the same choices as the
two people they most liked from the second week to the end of the study period, indicating
that triads and parings form quickly (1961: 62-4). The number of pairs and triad increased
over each study year (1961: 166). Respondents regularly assumed the other two members of
a stable triad of which they were members, liked each other, and though was often but not
always the case (1968: 549). Unpopular men living in the student house made more erratic
choices of attraction than the other participants, and the students whom they nominated as
most preferred tended not to reciprocate the preference (1968: 549).
While race surfaces only as a secondary concern in control variable lists in much network
research before the 1980s (and, indeed, is entirely avoided in Newcomb’s study of a university
student house and Fischer’s studies of residential communities), scholars in the United States
have given recent attention to the formation (or non-formation) of inter-racial friendships
(Hallinan and Williams, 1989: 68). These researchers also found evidence of cross-racial
friendships, as well as finding that policies of integration, which received institutional
support, increased cross-racial contact. Nevertheless, US students reported inter-racial
friendships in strikingly low frequencies in the mid-1980s (1989: 76). This research develops
in the context of government officials seeking academic validation of public policies to redress
the high profile history of racial tensions in that country. In contrast, very little work has been
completed in Britain looking systematically at student friendship and support networks in the
UK.
Data Collection Techniques and Response Rate
Moreno (1934), Scott (1991) and Wasserman and Faust (1994) argue that whole population
assessments provide the best vantage from which to observe social structures in a population.
Accordingly, this project followed the whole intake of new postgraduate students in one
department at three points during the academic year, starting with the first week of the new
term. The first questionnaire additionally collected demographic data. As I pledged to
maintain total confidentiality with replies to the questionnaires, the network graphs and
subsequent discussion are limited to retain anonymity.
A manageable sample of a maximum of 65 postgraduate students entered the department in
the study year. The three questionnaires attracted response rates of 62.3%, 70.5% and 77.0%,
respectively. Most respondents did not return at least one questionnaire, but 88.5% of students
completed at least one questionnaire. Full-time students and people of certain nationalities,
mainly white British students and students from East and South-East Asian countries
(particularly those who came from Islamic areas), responded at higher rates than other
students.
Figure 1 shows the self identified ethnic origin of students in the department. As I
inadvertently missed out the word South from South East Asian in questionnaire one, the
Asian and East Asian categories have been grouped together as one variable. I also have
grouped the two people who selected the option “other” into the Asian category (as both
students noted that they had come to the department from North, Asian countries). White and
Asian students accounted for the majority of students in the sample.
Figure 1 : Students by Self Identified Ethnic Origin
Results
Table 1 - The network density of each wave of data collection.
1
2
Wave
(week 1)
(Week 6)
Number of People
60
65
(Excluding
Isolates)
Number of
252
371
acquaintances
Mean
4.2
5.7
acquaintances per
person
Density all
0.0370
0.0938
students in the
network
3
(week 12)
64
796
12.4
0.1796
Figure 2 - Graphs of Waves
Wave 1
Wave 2
Wave 3
Friendship Groups
Asian students formed the largest group or clique among the new intake of graduate students.
In Wave 1, this group was very much isolated from other groups of students, though it should
be noted that Asian students made acquaintances very quickly within their self identified
ethnic group. In the first two waves, gatekeepers were central features in the network graphs
as a whole, being the people who had the most contacts. The five students who performed this
role were mainly very out-going and friendly home students. In the second wave, other
cliques of students formed mainly on scheme of study lines. Overall, the average number of
acquaintance students had made increased from 4.2 to 5.7. After the graduate conference2,
students reported meeting on average 7.5 students whom they had not previously met, and, as
Table 2 shows, the average number of acquaintances had more than doubled. At this wave,
students had formed a connected group with a 30% interconnection rate, though three students
remained isolated and one person knew only one other person.
As the year progressed, students not only formed a greater numbers of acquaintances but also
interacted in a growing number of cliques. Table 2 shows the number and size of cliques by
wave. The overlapping cliques of smaller values were removed when calculating these
figures, accounting for the apparent anomaly in Wave 3.
Table 2 - The Size and Number of Cliques by Wave
Wave 1
Wave 2
Wave 3
3
18
85
38
4
2
40
33
Size of Cliques
5
6
7
8
9
12
43
6
1
1
71
20
Variables That Affect Friendship Group Formation
Ethnicity, as well as scheme of study, and hours of study (whether full-time or part-time)
significantly influenced friendship formation, while age and gender had little impact.
Ethnicity proved to be the most significant factor in the first few weeks, while scheme and
period of study rose to greater prominence at the second wave. The graduate weekend also
had a pronounced effect on networking, with students making an average 7.5 new
acquaintances during this event. Part-time students, who tended to live in their own homes,
had fewer than half the contacts made by full-time students - even by Wave 3. Students who
lived in London also tended to have fewer acquaintances than students who lived more
locally, particularly those renting accommodation (either through the university or privately).
Cliques initially formed along self identified ethnic lines. By Wave 2, acquaintances also
grouped on course and scheme of study lines, and became more widespread by the final wave.
Second, once an acquaintance dyad formed, it remained, usually to be later joined by other
dyads and groups over time. Nevertheless, as the self identified ethnic dyads developed first
and remained, self identified ethnicity had a particularly significant influence on the
acquaintance structures in the department.
2
The graduate conference is a conference organised by the department for gradate students
Isolated Students
In the first wave, Asians and students living in London also were more likely not to know any
of their peers, though most Asian students had made connections by Wave 2. The number of
isolated students fell by each successive wave, though, as Figure 2 shows, some students did
not integrate. In every wave, part-time students were over-represented among the isolates. By
Wave 3, only part-time and Middle Eastern students had not developed at least a loose mesh
of peer contacts.
Conclusions
The studied postgraduate students made acquaintances from the first week of their studies,
and then generally gained one additional contact per week. Students initially congregated to
other students of the same self identified ethnic background, but cliques expanded to include
other students from the same courses and the same period of study by Wave 2. At the middle
of the autumn term, part-timers, especially those owning homes, living in London, and/or
studying on a health-related MA, had substantially fewer contacts than the rest of their peers.
Asian students clustered into a well-connected subgroup with few contacts with the rest of the
student population. Curiously, in Wave 2, one student with only two personal acquaintances
was positioned to link the Asian and white student cliques. By Wave 3, only some part-time
and Middle Eastern students had not developed at least a loose mesh of peer contacts. The
graduate weekend had a major effect on both the number and quality of acquaintances.
Many British university students from self identified ethnic minority groups experience
different private and social lives during their studies than their white European peers. Even
The Economist published a recent article noting that Chinese students’ in the UK perceive
such behaviours as pub-crawling and binge drinking as “mystifying” or even “repellent”, and
that “coping with life in Britain involves hanging out with other Chinese students”
(Economist: 1).
The previous research of students in the United States arose from the troubled race relations in
that country (Hallinan and Williams, 1989). Britain has experienced some similar general racebased problems as the USA, though in many respects the context of race relations in the UK
differs from the USA. Compared to many British universities, the studied department has a
comparatively high mix of Asian staff members, as well as having many white members of staff
who speak Asian languages. Asian students, like other overseas students, more regularly
consulted the resource room3 for help with essays. It is not surprising that people who had to deal
with study in their second, third, or nth language would turn first to people in a similar position
when entering the University. After the graduate weekend, students from many self identified
ethnic backgrounds had made each other’s acquaintance. Asian students expressed a wish for
the conference to be held earlier so that they could have expanded their social contacts sooner.
The general increase in the number and size of acquaintances found here is consistent with
other research. My findings with regard to race, however, need to be interpreted separately.
The research in the United States has concentrated on troubled race relations in that country
(Hallinan and Williams, 1989). Britain can by no means claim to have avoided similar general
race-based problems. The studied department has a comparatively high mix of Asian staff
members, as well as having many white members of staff who speak Asian languages. Asian
students, like other overseas students, more regularly consulted the resource room for help with
essays. It is not surprising that people who had to deal with study in their second, third, or fourth
language would turn first to people in a similar position when entering the University. After the
graduate weekend, students from many self identified ethnic backgrounds had made each other’s
acquaintance. Overseas students also depend on each other and the Resource Room for some
levels of assistance and overseas MA students generally have the most clear career objectives.
Not surprisingly, most students found the graduate weekend generally enjoyable. Part-time
students and qualifying year Asian students, however, also felt intimidated by the level of
jargon and intensity of the theory in the conference readings. A majority of students got more
from informal discussions and socialising than from formal sessions. While white European
students wanted an improved social programme, Asian students expressed a wish for the
conference to be held earlier so that they could have expanded their social contacts sooner.
3
The resource room is a room containing relevant resources for students to use
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