No reliable nationwide measures distinguish bridging from bonding social capital

Evidence

However, like researchers on global warming, we must make do with the imperfect evidence that we can find, not merely lament its deficiencies. Exhaustive descriptions of social networks in America—even at a single point in time—do not exist. I have found no reliable, comprehensive, nationwide measures of social capital that neatly distinguish “bridgingness” and “bondingness.” In our empirical account of recent social trends in this book, therefore, this distinction will be less prominent than I would prefer. On the other hand, we must keep this conceptual differentiation at the back of our minds as we proceed, recognizing that bridging and bonding social capital are not interchangeable. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 54

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: whether any more recent survey instruments or datasets now separate bridging from bonding measures better than was possible in the 1990s.
• XREF: connects to: Bridging social capital declines when online affinity groups narrow communication — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 589

Broader Connections

• Bridging social capital declines when online affinity groups narrow communication #qualifies (0.75) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 589