Social network analysis
2 February 2015
Social networks are important for your career.
Why study networks
- Money flow and political influence
o Campaign needs money
- Health outcomes
o Understand how epidemics spread, know the routes
- Work-related outcomes
o Find people to cooperate or hire etc.
One application of social networking research: the spread of happiness.
Conclusion: happiness is contagious
Social network analysis
- Focus on the relationships between actors (people, groups, organizations,
alliances)
- Relationships define actor’s position in network = network embeddedness
o Provides opportunities and constraints on actor’s behavior
- Take an information processing perspective in this course: how information
spreads through network.
Phenomena studied here:
- Observations (cases) are dyads (2 elements) not individuals
o Requires different statistical methods to analyze: matrices rather
than columns
- Fundamental variables are social relations not individual’s attributes
- Theoretical constructs like centrality, structural equivalence and network
shape.
o Interdisciplinary study for different networks using common
principles and perspectives.
Logistics uses same methods but different networks than
marketing
A network is:
- A set of actors (individuals or collectivities
- Set of ties connecting actors
o Directed one-way like advise
o Undirected interaction
o Valued emotional importance or frequency
o Presence/absence
- Different relations give different structures and consequences
Different disciplines often use different symbols with different meanings behind
the symbols.
Major SNA concepts
- Tie characteristics
- Node characteristcs
o Centrality
o Similarity
2 February 2015
Social networks are important for your career.
Why study networks
- Money flow and political influence
o Campaign needs money
- Health outcomes
o Understand how epidemics spread, know the routes
- Work-related outcomes
o Find people to cooperate or hire etc.
One application of social networking research: the spread of happiness.
Conclusion: happiness is contagious
Social network analysis
- Focus on the relationships between actors (people, groups, organizations,
alliances)
- Relationships define actor’s position in network = network embeddedness
o Provides opportunities and constraints on actor’s behavior
- Take an information processing perspective in this course: how information
spreads through network.
Phenomena studied here:
- Observations (cases) are dyads (2 elements) not individuals
o Requires different statistical methods to analyze: matrices rather
than columns
- Fundamental variables are social relations not individual’s attributes
- Theoretical constructs like centrality, structural equivalence and network
shape.
o Interdisciplinary study for different networks using common
principles and perspectives.
Logistics uses same methods but different networks than
marketing
A network is:
- A set of actors (individuals or collectivities
- Set of ties connecting actors
o Directed one-way like advise
o Undirected interaction
o Valued emotional importance or frequency
o Presence/absence
- Different relations give different structures and consequences
Different disciplines often use different symbols with different meanings behind
the symbols.
Major SNA concepts
- Tie characteristics
- Node characteristcs
o Centrality
o Similarity
