Christopher McCarty, Ph.D.

Director, UF Bureau of Economic and Business Research

Office: Turlington Hall, Room 1112
Phone: (352) 392-2253
Email: ufchris@ufl.edu
Website

Google Scholar

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Education

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Personal Network Analysis

My primary area of research is social network analysis with a focus on personal network analysis. My early contributions are to methods for collecting and analyzing personal network data, including the development of Egonet, an open source program for the collection and analysis of personal network data. Over the past several years I have applied personal networks to specific research problems, particularly through collaborations with researchers specializing in substantive topics. These include research on migrants, disasters, hypertension, substance abuse, and co-offending.   Egonet remains the most widely used program for personal networks and I provide support to the SNA community for personal network research.

• Raffaele Vacca, Giacomo Solano, Miranda Jessica Lubbers, José Luis Molina, Christopher McCarty (2016) A personal network approach to the study of immigrant structural assimilation and transnationalism. Social Networks In Press.
• Fuller, Kia C.; Mccarty, Christopher; Vacca, Raffaele; et al. (2016) Association of ACE, TPA, and WNK1 Alu polymorphisms, perceptions of unfair treatment, and personal networks with hypertension in African Americans. American Journal of Physical Anthropology   159 (62): 149-149
• Christopher McCarty and Killworth, Peter Impact of Methods for Reducing Respondent Burden on Personal Network Structural Measures Social Networks Social Networks 29: 300-315 (2007)
• Christopher McCarty. Measuring Structure in Personal Networks. Journal of Social Structure 3:1 (2002). (http://www.cmu.edu/joss/content/articles/volume3/McCarty.html).

Estimating Size of Hard to Count Populations

My colleagues and I developed a method to estimate the size of hard to count populations using a personal network approach. This two-step approach first involves estimating the size of the respondent’s personal network then solves for the size of hard to count populations based on distributions of network size and respondent knowledge of those in the target population. In 2008 this approach, called the Network Scale-up Method (NSUM), was adopted by the international HIV/AIDS research community as a way to estimate the size of Most at Risk Populations.

• H Russell Bernard, Tim Hallett, Alexandrina Iovita, Eugene C Johnsen, Rob Lyerla, Christopher McCarty, Mary Mahy, Matthew J Salganik, Tetiana Saliuk, Otilia Scutelniciuc, Gene A Shelley, Petchsri Sirinirund, Sharon Weir, Donna F Stroup. “Counting hard-to-count populations: the network scale-up method for public health” Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2010 86: ii11-ii15. (2010)
• Christopher McCarty, Peter D. Killworth, H. Russell Bernard, Eugene Johnsen and Gene A. Shelley. Comparing Two Methods for Estimating Network Size. Human Organization 60:28-39. (2001)
• Peter D. Killworth, Christopher McCarty, H. Russell Bernard, Gene A. Shelley and Eugene Johnsen. Estimation of Seroprevalence, Rape and Homelessness in the U.S. Using a Social Network Approach.   Evaluation Review 22:289-308 (1998).
• Peter D. Killworth, Eugene Johnsen, Christopher McCarty, Gene A. Shelley and H. Russell Bernard. A Social Network Approach to Estimating Seroprevalence in the United States. Social Networks 20:23-50 (1998).

Scientific Collaboration

I began studying scientific networks using data from an NSF grant in 2005 to understand the relationship between scientific productivity and ego-centered publication network structure. In 2012 I began collaborating with the University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute (a NIH CTSA award) to measure the collaborative effect of the CTSI. I served as a PI or co-investigator on these studies.

• Vacca, Raffaele, McCarty, Christopher, Conlon, Michael, Nelson, David. Designing a CTSA-based social network intervention to foster cross-disciplinary team science. Accepted. Clinical and Translational Science. (2014)
• Allison L. Hopkins, James W. Jawitz, Christopher McCarty, Alex Goldman and Nandita Basu. Disparities in publication patterns by gender, race and ethnicity based on a survey of a random sample of authors. Scientometrics, 96(2): 515-534. (2013)
• Christopher McCarty and James W. Jawitz. Attitudes about publishing and the establishment of a normal science. Journal of Informetrics. 7(4): 850-858. (2013)
• Christopher McCarty, James W. Jawitz, Allison Hopkins and Alex Goldman. Predicting author h-index using characteristics of the co-author network. Scientometrics. 96(2): 467-483. (2013)

Survey Research Methods

Throughout my research career I have made several contributions to survey research methods using data gathered through my role as director of the University of Florida Survey Research Center. My research on most recent versus final dispositions was adopted by the American Association of Public Opinion Research in their manual on standard definitions and best practices within the discipline of survey research.

• Christopher McCarty, Mark House, Scott Richards, Jeffrey Harman. Separating the effect of effort versus context on response rates for telephone interviewing. Field Methods 18: 172-188. (2006)
• Christopher McCarty, John Attafuah . Are survey-based economic indicators for Africa valid?: The case of consumer confidence in Ghana. Social Indicators Research 65: 207-225 (2004).
• Christopher McCarty. Differences in response rates using most recent versus final dispositions in telephone surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly 67: 396-406 (2003)

Disaster Studies

I have applied my approach to personal network analysis to the study of disaster-prone communities and mental health. I have conducted a series of survey based studies on hurricane evacuation behavior.

• Eric C. Jones, Arthur D. Murphy, A. J. Faas, Graham A. Tobin, Christopher McCarty, Linda M. Whiteford. (2015) Postdisaster reciprocity and the development of inequality in personal networks. Economic Anthropology. 2(2): 385-404
• Jones, EC, Faas, AJ, Murphy, AD, Tobin, GA, Whitehead, LM, McCarty, C. Cross-Cultural and Site-Based Influences on Demographic, Well-being, and Social Network Predictors of Risk Perception in Hazard and Disaster Settings in Ecuador and Mexico, Human Nature-An Interdisciplinary Biosocial Perspective, 24(1): 5-32.   (2013)
• Smith, Stan and Christopher McCarty. Fleeing the Storm(s): An Examination of Evacuation Behavior during Florida’s 2004 Hurricane Season. Demography 46:1 127-145 (2009)
• Stanley K. Smith, Christopher McCarty. Demographic Effects of Natural Disasters: A Case Study of Hurricane Andrew. Demography 33:265-275 (1996).

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Courses Taught