Research Objective

Social relationships are vital to our well-being and survival. To grasp their significance, we need to understand why animals benefit from forming social connections in their natural environments, and uncover the evolutionary origins of these relationships. But how can we accurately record social behaviour? Traditionally, researchers have focused on observing and recording the behaviors of one individual at a time, assuming it provides the most accurate results. Yet, recent simulation studies suggest that sampling all group members at regular intervals might be a more effective approach. This project aims to compare the performance of focal and scan sampling methods in recording social interactions and constructing social networks. By evaluating how similar, certain and robust the estimated networks are, we can gain valuable insights into the trade-offs of each sampling strategy. This will critically inform how we can reliably and effectively capture social behaviour, which lies at the heart of research on social relationships.

Research Questions

Can we compare existing networks that have been built using focal and scan data?

Which method might generate most reliable and robust networks?