“When you are holding a pen you think deeper about what you write.” Comparing the experiences of completing paper- and computer-based participant aided sociograms

Past personal network research has highlighted the many trade-offs in data collection strategies but has largely overlooked respondents’ perspectives on the interview experience. We use a within-subjects research design to compare respondents’ experiences with pen-and-paper sociograms and a comparable computer-assisted approach using Network Canvas, amongst young people in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data was collected through five focus groups (31 participants in total) and analyzed using thematic analysis and a novel journey-based approach. Our results highlight key experiential trade-offs between the analog and digital methods focusing on cognitive burden, emotional investment, and practical constraints. Centrally the analog method allowed greater emotional investment, which may or may not be desired. This work showcases the merits of a journey-based analytical approach for better understanding the interview process from respondents’ point of view, and highlights that considering sociogram tools experientially invites greater focus on ethical concerns for respondent care.