Whom we interact with and relate to influences behaviours, happiness, economic participation and life expectancy, as well as structuring family dynamics, community cohesion and the wider society. But social science has little representative data about who interacts with whom in the UK or the implications of those interactions.

Social connection, interaction and network data are, however, challenging to collect. People might be reluctant to share contact information, leading to social desirability and non-response bias, and the cognitive burden of recording all social interactions might lead to participant boredom or withdrawal. Recent technologies, like apps and sensors when used to collect social interaction data, can be seen as intrusive and overbearing.

We will be holding 6 workshops (3 online, 3 in-person) in different parts of the UK, Scotland, north of England, and London, each with 10 members of the public, to identify design features that may limit participation and the types of people who may be more or less willing to consent to different data collection requests. Eight follow up interviews will be used to explore in more detail the factors influencing participation.

If you would like to participate, please let us know by email.