The structured social observation data set is composed of four key measures of neighborhood structural and social characteristics. The four measures are social disorder, social order, institutional disorder, and institutional order. Social order captures assets in a community that promote positive socialization (e.g., bus stops, bike racks, neighborhood watch signs, and/or children playing). Social disorder captures potential liabilities of social aspects of a community (e.g., selling drugs, prostitution, and/or fights). Institutional disorder measures structural or physical liabilities of a community (e.g., broken windows, liquor and tobacco sales, and/or commercial property that is burned out, boarded up, or abandoned). Institutional order measures structural or physical assets in a community (e.g., schools, banks, churches, cultural arts, and/or green space).
The primary data were collected by raters (research assistants) who walked predetermined segments in the communities that were observed. The predetermined segments were organized in closed-loop routes that strategically reflected census tracts and zip code boundaries to allow for appropriate data aggregation. Two or three routes were within a census tract and zip code boundary. Census tract and zip code-level values represent means of route values within the boundary. Two raters independently observed the same segments until agreement was reached. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using Cohen’s Kappa. An exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha (item reliability) was conducted on the data to develop the four constructs presented in the data set.
