An Introduction to
Network Analysis
Stan Wasserman
Ann McCranie
Abstract:
Network analysis focuses on relationships between
interacting entities. It is used widely
in the social and behavioral sciences, as well as in political science,
economics, organizational science, and industrial engineering. The network perspective, which will be taught
in this workshop, has been developed over the last sixty years by researchers
in psychology, sociology, and anthropology, as well as statistics and
mathematics.
This 1 1/2 day workshop will present an introduction to
various concepts, methods, and applications of network analysis drawn from the
social, behavioral, and organizational sciences. The primary focus of these methods is the
analysis of relational data measured on groups of actors. Topics to be discussed include an
introduction to graph theory and the use of directed graphs to study structural
theories of actor interrelations and structural and locational
properties of actors. A general introduction to common measures of actors and
network structures will be provided, in addition to new developments in
statistical analysis using models such as p1,
p*, and their relatives.
The short course is a free service offered to conference
registrants. No additional fees are required beyond conference registration to
attend the short course. However, a text is required and will be offered at a
nominal $25 cost.
Schedule:
Day One, Monday
0830-1000 Lecture (Introduction, notation, graph theory)
1000-1015 Break
1015-1100 Lecture (Centrality)
1100-1200 Lunch
1200-1330 Lab
Session (Using UCINET, Pajek, drawing graphs)
1330-1515 Lecture (Cohesive subgroups, reciprocity and
transitivity)
1515-1530 Break
1530-1700 Lab
Session (Specific network and actor statistics)
Day Two, Tuesday
0830-1045 Lecture (Statistical
Modeling, p*)
1045-1100 Break
1100-1200 Lecture
(Statistical Modeling continued)
Requirements:
Everyone should have a copy of Wasserman and Faust (Social
Network Analysis, Cambridge University Press, 1994) ,
and a laptop computer with two packages installed:
1. UCINET (which comes bundled with Pajek
and Netwdraw). This can be
available by a free 30-day trial
download at
http://www.analytictech.com/ucinet/ucinet.htm
2. pnet
for Single Networks
http://www.sna.unimelb.edu.au/pnet/pnet.html#download
(Note that this requires a Windows environment, Java Runtime
and a C++ library, all of which is detailed on the site).
We will help you with installation and any other related issues during breaks on the first day.