Social Categories and Boundary-Making

Exploring the Potential of Interactive Visual Tools to Study Boundary Work within Personal Networks

Bibliographic Data

ID3014297
AuthorsNúria Targarona Rifà (0000-0003-0189-3640, COALESCE Lab, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, corresponding author), Louise Ryan (0000-0001-5957-2490, London Metropolitan University), Alejandro Ciordia (0000-0001-6586-924X, Maastricht University)
Year2025
Publication date2025-08-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Research Online (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1360-7804 • E-ISSN: 1360-7804
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/13607804251347267
OpenAlexW4413285872
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited24

Research on categorisation and boundary work has often focused on how institutional actors draw boundaries between groups of individuals, overlooking how individuals informally contest or reinforce these boundaries and categories. In this article, we make the case for new interactive qualitative data collection strategies to inductively explore social categorisation and boundary-making processes within personal networks, bringing together the potential of visualisation and personal network research. We introduce an innovative methodological procedure for in-depth interviewing that consists of asking participants to report on specific network members while using two novel interactive visual tools displayed on electronic devices. By discussing examples from our research, we illustrate the method's potential in the data collection and analysis stages and highlight the technical, methodological, and conceptual contributions it can make to the study of social boundaries

Boundary object · Boundary-work · Cognitive science · Negotiation · Social science · Sociology · Visual methods · Engineering · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access