An Exploration of the Experiences of African American Women's Use of Network Relationships to Access Resources and Information to Benefit Communities: A Phenomenological Study
Open AccessAbstract of the DissertationAn Exploration of the Experiences of African American Women's Use of Network Relationships to Access Resources and Information to Benefit Communities:A Phenomenological Study This qualitative, phenomenological study explored the experiences of 13 African American women who used their network relationships to access resources and information for activities that addressed social problems in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The research was grounded in strength of weak tie and homophily theories. Existing research demonstrates that network interpersonal ties consisting of family, friends, and the like (strong ties) and acquaintances (weak ties) are a source of, or access to, resources and information that have the potential to mitigate some social ills (Granovetter, 1973; Ibarra, 1993; Murray, Rankin, & Magill, 1981; Wellman, 1979; Stack, 1975). Research also posits that due to the propensity for similar people to associate with one another, strong ties tend to be homophilous (McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Cook, 2001; Granovetter, 1983). Some aspects of African American women's network experiences supported existing research. In contrast, the research demonstrated that homophily, lack of access to strong, weak, or absent ties, and frequency of interaction with ties were not deterrents to the women's ability to access resources and information. The research also revealed that strong ties can provide or bridge to nonredundant resources and information and that factors other than tie strength can motivate people to support the women's resource and information needs. Four conclusions with respect to the network experiences of African American women were drawn from this study: (1) strong ties and homophilous groups have the capacity to be direct sources of, and bridges to, nonredundant resources and information; (2) strangers are a potential source of resources and information and can be introduced into a network without a strong or weak tie bridge; (3) causes and positive reputations, not strength of ties, motivate weak ties to provide or bridge to resources and information; and (4) strategy contributes to the successful development and management of network interpersonal relationships and access to resources and information.
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