NETWORKS
Networks are not just structures. I am examining how people's networks are shaped by their decisions, their contexts, or both, in quantitative and qualitative studies across multiple settings---from parents in daycare centers to children in violent neighborhoods to students in Ph.D. programs. Recent works include a decision-process theory of how people mobilize their networks, a 50-contributor handbook on ego network analysis, and an original-survey study of how much Americans avoid their strong ties. [Papers]
URBAN INEQUALITY
Urban inequality is a dynamic process observed in people's decisions and movements. I am using large-scale administrative data from Google Maps, SafeGraph, Advan, and other sources to answer important new questions about urban inequality. Recent works include studies of racial segregation based on everyday mobility, of access to financial institutions based on millions of travel queries, and of "data-induced blindness" in urban science. See DRIP. [Papers]
METHODS
Social science requires clarity on how to evaluate both quantitative and qualitative methods. I am working to raise the standards of qualitative research and improve the public’s “qualitative literacy”—the ability to read and interpret qualitative evidence. Recent works include a study of how to assess interview data, a case for integrating qualitative and "big" data, a comment on the value of fieldwork to understanding quantitative prediction, and a new book on how to evaluate ethnographic and interview research. [Papers]