Postgraduate Course: Social Network Analysis: Mapping and Exploring the Network Society (PGSP11372)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Articulating social network theory and methods, this course seeks to explore the transformations of social life in contemporary societies characterized by the importance of connectedness and geographic mobility. The course will introduce students to the theories, concepts and measures of social network analysis (SNA) through a mixture of classroom teaching and hands-on computer work. It aims to discuss in particular: (1) to what extent social life is more networked in late modern societies; (2) how SNA is a powerful way of capturing empirically social life; (3) to what extent social networks are more individualized; (4) how physical and virtual mobility play an increasing role in meetings and social relationships. Key notions will be addressed and illustrated through both the discussions of major thinkers and the use of the UCINet software and its visualization program NetDraw on real-world data sets. Emphasis will be placed on sociological/social science research, even though students will be free to choose their own topic/discipline for their final essay. No prior knowledge of social network analysis, math or statistics is assumed for this course. |
| Course description |
The rise of the network society
Half-day workshop run by the Social Network Analysis in Scotland Group (SNAS) about Network data handling and network embeddedness on UCINet
Social capital and social inequalities
Centrality, power and prestige
Communities, homophily and small world
Cohesive subgroups analysis
Mobility, communication technologies and distant social relationships
(two-mode) affiliation networks
Contemporary relationships: between individuality and connectedness
Special session for one-to-one or small-group discussions with students about their final essay
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
A series of four exercises (marked out of 5, worth 20% of the total mark) completed and submitted online to the course convenor, so as to assess that students have learnt how to use SNA tools on UCINet.
One 3200 word essay (appendices excluded, worth 80% of the total mark), where students will be asked to use SNA on empirical data to critically address a research question in a discipline of their choosing. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the key concepts and principles of social network analysis
- Use an appropriate SNA software package to critically examine important issues in the field of social network analysis
- Develop extensive, detailed and critical knowledge and understanding in one area of social network analysis linked to a discipline of their choosing
- Write a detailed report to communicate the results of a small-scale research project using SNA in a chosen discipline
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Reading List
Bearman, P. (1997). Generalized Exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 102, 1383-1415.
Cartwright, D. Harary, F. (1956). Structural balance: A generalization of Heider¿s theory. Psychological Review, 63, 277-293.
Castells, M. (2000). The rise of the network society. Blackwell, Oxford.
Finch, J. Mason, J. (1993). Negotiating family responsibilities. New York: Routledge.
Fischer, C. S. (1982). To Dwell Among Friends: Personal Networks in Town and City. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91, 481-510.
Heider, F. (1946). Attitudes and cognitive organization. Journal of Psychology, 21, 107-112.
Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York: Wiley.
Kadushin, C. (2011). Understanding social networks: Theories, concepts, and findings. Chapter 1. Oxford University Press, USA.
Rainie, L. Wellman, B. (2012). Networked: The new social operating system. MIT Press.
Scott, J. (2012). What is social network analysis? Bloomsbury Academic. Chapter 2.
Urry, J. (2003). Social networks, travel and talk. British Journal of Sociology, 54, 155-175.
Urry, J. (2012). Social networks, mobile lives and social inequalities. Journal of Transport Geography, 21, 24-30.
Van Dijk, J. (1999). The network society: Social aspects of new media. Sage.
Wellman, B. Berkowitz, S.D. (Eds.) (1988). Social Structures: A Network Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wellman, B. (2001). Physical place and cyberspace: The rise of personalized networking. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 25, 227-252.
De Nooy, W. Mrvar, A. Batagelj, V. (2005). Exploratory social network analysis with Pajek. Chapters 1-2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hanneman, R. A. Riddle, M. Introduction to social network methods. Chapters 1-5 and 7-8. http://faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman/nettext/
Kadushin, C. (2011). Understanding social networks: Theories, concepts, and findings. Chapters 2-3. Oxford University Press, USA.
Knoke, D. Yang, S. (2007). Social Network Analysis. Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences. Chapters 1-4. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Scott, J. (2012). Social network analysis. 3rd Edition. Chapters 1-4. London: Sage Publications.
Wasserman, S. Faust, K. (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Chapters 1-2 and 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Burt, R. S., 1992. Structural holes: The social structure of competition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
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Crossley, N. (2008). (Net)working out: social capital in a private health club. The British journal of sociology, 59, 475-500.
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Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380.
Kadushin, C. (2011). Understanding social networks: Theories, concepts, and findings. Chapter 10. Oxford University Press, USA.
Knoke, D. (2001). Changing Organizations: Business Networks in the New Political Economy. Boulder: Westview.
Lin, N. (1999). Building a network theory of social capital. Connections, 22, 28-51.
Lin, N. (2001). Social capital. A theory of social structure and action. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Lin, N. Cook, K. S. Burt, R. S. (2001). Social capital: theory and research. Aldine de Gruyter.
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De Nooy, W. Mrvar, A. Batagelj, V. (2005). Exploratory social network analysis with Pajek. Chapters 6-7 and 9. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hanneman, R. A. Riddle, M. Introduction to social network methods. Chapters 9-10. http://faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman/nettext/
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Kadushin, C. (2011). Understanding social networks: Theories, concepts, and findings. Chapter 3. Oxford University Press, USA.
Knoke, D. Yang, S. (2007). Social Network Analysis. Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences. Chapter 4. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Krackhardt, D. (1999). Ties that torture: Simmelian tie analysis in organizations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 16, 183-210.
Krackhardt, D. Porter, L. W. (1985). When friends leave: A structural analysis of the relationship between turnover and stayers¿ attitudes.¿ Administrative Science Quarterly, 30, 242-261.
Scott, J. (2012). Social network analysis. 3rd Edition. Chapter 5. London: Sage Publications.
Wasserman, S. Faust, K. (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Chapters 5-6. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Barabási, A.-L. (2003) Linked. New York: Plume.
Bell, C. Newby, H. (1971). Community Studies. London: Allen and Unwin.
Bidart, C. Lavenu, D. (2005). Evolutions of personal networks and life events. Social Networks, 27, 359-376.
Christakis, N. A. Fowler, J. H. (2007). The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years. New England Journal of Medicine, 357, 370-379.
Small animation here: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa066082
Crossley, N. (2008). Small-world networks, complex systems and sociology. Sociology, 42, 261-277.
Crossley, N. (2009). The man whose web expanded: Network dynamics in Manchester's post/punk music scene 1976¿1980. Poetics, 37, 24-49.
Crow, G. Maclean, C. (2006) Community. In Payne, G. (Ed.). Social divisions. (pp. 305¿324), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Dunbar, R. I. M. (1992). Neocortex size as a constraint on group size in primates. Journal of Human Evolution, 20, 469-493.
Feld, S. (1981). The focused organisation of social ties. American Journal of Sociology, 86: 1015-1035.
Feld, S. (1982). Social structural determinants of similarity among associates, American Sociological Review 47, 797-801.
Fischer, C. S. (1982). To Dwell Among Friends: Personal Networks in Town and City. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Guare, J. (1990). Six Degrees of Separation: A Play. New York: Vintage.
Kadushin, C. (2011). Understanding social networks: Theories, concepts, and findings. Chapter 8. Oxford University Press, USA.
Milgram, S. (1967). The Small World Problem, Psychology Today, 2, 60-67.
Scott, J. (2012). Social network analysis. 3rd Edition. Chapter 8. London: Sage Publications.
Simmel, G. (1955 [1908]). The web of group affiliations. In: Conflict and the web of affiliations. Trans. R. Bendix. New York: Free Press, pp. 125-195.
Watts, D. J. (2003). Small worlds: the dynamics of networks between order and randomness. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Watts, D. J. (2004). Six Degrees. London: Vintage.
Watts, D. J. Strogatz, S. H. (1998). Collective Dynamics of Small-World Networks. Nature, 393, 440-442.
Wellman, B. Carrington, P.J. Hall, A. (1988). Networks as personal communities. In Wellman, B., Berkowitz, S.D. (Eds.). Social Structures: A Network Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lee M.Y. Ellis, P. D. (2000). Insider-outsider perspectives of guanxi. Business Horizons, (Jan-Feb), 25-30.
De Nooy, W. Mrvar, A. Batagelj, V. (2005). Exploratory social network analysis with Pajek. Chapter 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hanneman, R. A. Riddle, M. Introduction to social network methods. Chapter 11. http://faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman/nettext/
Kadushin, C. (2011). Understanding social networks: Theories, concepts, and findings. Chapter 4. Oxford University Press, USA.
Knoke, D. Yang, S. (2007). Social Network Analysis. Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences. Chapter 4. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Scott, J. (2012). Social network analysis. 3rd Edition. Chapter 6. London: Sage Publications.
Wasserman, S. Faust, K. (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Chapter 7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
De Miguel Luken, V. Tranmer, M. (2010). Personal support networks of immigrants to Spain: A multilevel analysis. Social Networks, 32, 253-262.
Elliott, A., Urry, J. (2010). Mobile Lives. New York: Routledge.
Fischer, C. S. (1982). To Dwell Among Friends: Personal Networks in Town and City. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Larsen, J., Urry, J., Axhausen, K. (2006). Mobilities, Networks, Geographies. Ashgate, Aldershot, UK.
Lubbers, M. J. Molina, J. L. Lerner, J. Brandes, U. Ávila, J. McCarty, C. (2010). Longitudinal analysis of personal networks. The case of Argentinean migrants in Spain. Social Networks, 32, 91-104.
Mason, J. (1999). Living away from relatives: kinship and geographical reasoning. In: S. McRae (Ed.). Changing Britain: Families and Households in the 1990s. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mason, J. (2004). Managing Kinship over Long Distances: The Significance of ¿The Visit¿. Social Policy & Society, 3, 421-429.
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Viry, G. (2012). Residential mobility and the spatial dispersion of personal networks: effects on social support. Social Networks, 34, 59-72.
Wellman, B. (2001). Physical place and cyberspace: The rise of personalized networking. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 25, 227-252.
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Hanneman, R. A. Riddle, M. Introduction to social network methods. Chapter 17. http://faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman/nettext/
Knoke, D. Yang, S. (2007). Social Network Analysis. Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences. Chapter 5. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Scott, J. (2012). Social network analysis. 3rd Edition. Chapter 7. London: Sage Publications, 136-138.
Wasserman, S. Faust, K. (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Chapter 8. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Allan, G. (2008). Flexibility, friendship, and family. Personal Relationships, 15, 1-16.
Allan, G. (2001). Personal relationships in late modernity. Personal Relationships, 8, 325-339.
Byrne, D. (2005 [1999]). Social exclusion. Open University Press.
Finch, J. Mason, J. (1993). Negotiating family responsibilities. London: Routledge.
Li, Y. Savage, M. Pickles, A. (2003). Social capital and social exclusion in England and Wales (1972¿1999). The British journal of sociology, 54, 497-526.
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Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Rainie, L. Wellman, B. (2012). Networked: The new social operating system. MIT Press.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Students will develop the skills to:
- Work independently on a research question of their choosing;
- Analyse network/quantitative data and display the results graphically to support their argumentation;
- Write a well-argued essay, based on empirical evidence;
- Develop an original and creative response to complex research questions.
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Gil Viry
Tel: (0131 6)51 5768
Email: Gil.Viry@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Andrew Macaulay
Tel: (0131 6)51 5067
Email: Andrew.Macaulay@ed.ac.uk |
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