851-0578-00L  Introduction to Social Network Analysis

SemesterFrühjahrssemester 2017
Dozierende
Periodizitätjährlich wiederkehrende Veranstaltung
LehrveranstaltungFindet dieses Semester nicht statt.
LehrspracheEnglisch


KurzbeschreibungThis course offers an introduction to fundamental concepts, methods, and applications of social network analysis (SNA) on the basis of selected empirical studies and computer exercises.
LernzielAfter this course students will be (1) familiar with the relational paradigm, (2) capable of performing basic statistical analysis of social networks with R, and (3) able to assess strengths and weaknesses of the network approach in the social sciences.
InhaltSocial network analysis deals with the question of how social actors (people or organizations) are tied together by one or several specific types of interdependency, what patterns and structures emerge from their interactions, and how these structures can be explained by social processes and mechanisms. The course starts with a compilation of graph-theoretic foundations and basic concepts. In the remainder of the semester we cover a new topic in each session such as centrality, brokerage, small worlds, scale free networks, homophily, and diffusion. Students are expected to actively participate in the seminar, to give a short presentation on a scientific article during the semester, solve assignments, and to conduct a small research project in groups.
LiteraturJackson, Matthew O. 2008. Social and Economic Networks. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Newman, M.E.J. 2010. Networks. An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wasserman, S. und K. Faust (1994): Social Network Analysis. Methods and Applications. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.