Social Network Analysis

3 units

Social Network Analysis is an advanced graduate seminar covering social network analysis methods, with an emphasis on using network analysis tools to model social and health science relational and systems data. Network analysis techniques have become more widely used in recent years to study important areas such as the spread of infectious diseases (e.g., AIDS), the structure of the Internet and other complex information systems, the organization of terrorist networks, peer and family influences on smoking and obesity, referral patterns in social service systems, the diffusion of innovations, and the structure of governmental policy systems. The class will cover the historical and conceptual foundations of network analysis, but will emphasize a hands-on approach to exploring network data and learning to use professional network analysis tools. Specific topics include background and history of network analysis; network theories; network data collection and management; network visualization; network measures of centrality, cohesion, and structural equivalence; statistical modeling of networks; and longitudinal network analysis.