Social network analysis (SNA) is probably the oldest core subfield of CSS. It’s certainly the most uniquely sociological in its origins.
So, what better way to kick off the course than with a couple weeks on SNA? We’ll take the first chunk of the first class (Oct. 2) to paint the broad picture of the course and CSS more generally before diving into some SNA fundamentals.
- Required course introduction reading (to be discussed in class): Edelmann, Achim, Tom Wolff, Danielle Montagne, and Christopher A. Bail. 2020. “Computational Social Science and Sociology.” Annual Review of Sociology 46:61-81.
- Exercise: Digital trace audit: what’s there, and what’s missing?
- Recommended background reading:
- On Computational Social Science as a scientific field:
- Lazer, David, et al. 2009. “Computational Social Science.” Science 323:721-723.
- Lazer, David M. J., et al. 2020. “Computational Social Sciences: Obstacles and Opportunities.” Science 369(6507):1060-1062.
- Conte, R., et al. 2012. “Manifesto of Computational Social Science.” The European Physical Journal: Special Topics 214:325-346.
- On Social Network Analysis:
- Prell, Christina. 2012. “Introduction: What are Social Networks?” In Social Network Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
- Kadushin, Charles. 2012. “Introduction.” In Understanding Social Networks: Theories, Concepts, and Findings. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Sinclair, Betsy. 2016. “Network Structure and Social Outcomes: Network Analysis for Social Science.” In Computational Social Science: Discovery and Prediction, edited by R. M. Alvarez. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Zachary, Wayne C. 1977. “An Information Flow Model for Conflict and Fission in Small Groups.” Journal of Anthropological Research 33(4):452-473.
- On Computational Social Science as a scientific field:
- Recommended application readings:
- Bail, Christopher Andrew. 2016. “Combining Natural Language Processing and Network Analysis to Examine How Advocacy Organizations Stimulate Conversation on Social Media.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113(42):11823-11828.
- Weeden, Kim A. and Benjamin Cornwell. 2020. “The Small-World Network of College Classes: Implications for Epidemic Spread on a University Campus.” Sociological Science 7:222-241.
- Mahutga, Matthew C., Xiulian Ma, David A. Smith, and Michael Timberlake. 2010. “Economic Globalization and the Structure of the World City System: The Case of Airline Passenger Data.” Urban Studies 47(9):1925-1947.
- Okada, Sosuke. 2017. “Structure of Cultural Rejection.” Sociological Perspectives 60(2):355-377.
- Required application reading (to be discussed in class): Haynie, Dana L., Corey Whichard, Derek A. Kreager, David R. Schaefer, and Sara Wakefield. 2018. “Social Networks and Health in a Prison Unit.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 59(3):318-334.
- Exercise: Testing for homophily effects in an advice-seeking network
- Recommended background reading:
- Recommended application readings:
- Goodreau, Steven M., James A. Kitts, and Martina Morris. 2009. “Birds of a Feather, or Friend of a Friend? Using Exponential Random Graph Models to Investigate Adolescent Social Networks.” Demography 46(1):103-125.
- Smith, Chris M. and Andrew V. Papachristos. 2018. “Trust Thy Crooked Neighbor: Multiplexity in Chicago Organized Crime Networks.” American Sociological Review 81(4):644-667.
- Zerubavel, Noam, Mark Anthony Hoffman, Adam Reich, Kevin N. Ochsner, and Peter Bearman. 2018. “Neural Precursors of Future Liking and Affective Reciprocity.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115(17):4375-4380.
- Sepulvado, Brandon, David Hachen, Michael Penta, and Omar Lizardo. 2016. “Social Affiliation from Religious Disaffiliation: Evidence of Selective Mixing Among Youth with No Religious Preference During the Transition to College.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 54(4):833-841.
- Rawlings, Craig M. and Clayton Childress. 2021. “Schemas, Interactions, and Objects in Meaning-Making.” Sociological Forum 36(S1):1446-1477.