Explore projects in Social Network Analysis!
Projects in social network analysis (SNA) aim to broaden the application and enhance the sophistication of this powerful methodological approach. These initiatives explore innovative ways to use SNA in diverse fields such as education, psychology, public health, and community development. Researchers work to develop new metrics, integrate longitudinal or multimodal data, and incorporate qualitative insights to better capture the complexity of human relationships and social systems. Projects may also focus on applying SNA to underrepresented populations, cross-cultural contexts, or digital environments, such as social media and virtual communities. By advancing methodological tools and broadening access to network-based inquiry, these projects contribute to a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how social structures influence individual and collective outcomes.
“Social Network” by Zigomitros Athanasios, in the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons
- Statistical Models for Three-Way Social Network DynamicsProject Abstract/Summary This research project will develop models for the dynamics of social networks in which relationships involve three social entities. Conventional models for social network data focus on two-party (sender-receiver) relationships. Complementing these models with an extra dimension is critical to understanding social phenomena ranging from network perception biases (perceiver-sender-receiver relations) to gossip (sender-receiver-target relations). The methods to be developed will be applicable to many substantive fields, including education, political science, psychology, and sociology. A large-scale study on the… Read more: Statistical Models for Three-Way Social Network Dynamics
- CAREER: A Research and Educational Framework for Incorporating Spatial Heterogeneity into Social Network AnalysisProject Abstract/Summary Social networks are representations of the relationships between individuals or groups, ranging from household ties in an isolated village to billions of online social media connections. Analyzing these structures can tell us who is well-connected, who is important in the network, and more advanced structural properties like how information will flow through the network. Yet, these analyses are typically conducted without references to where the network is located in geographic space. Mapping the locations of the people or… Read more: CAREER: A Research and Educational Framework for Incorporating Spatial Heterogeneity into Social Network Analysis
- Next-Generation Kernel Methods for Social NetworksProject Abstract/Summary This research project will develop new techniques for the analysis of network data that combine innovations in machine learning with rigorous statistical theory. Methods for analysis of social systems with complex relational structure have been and continue to be a critical challenge within both the statistical and the social sciences. This project will advance methodology for exploratory, comparative, and semiparametric network analysis, with an eye to building on widely used, proven approaches, and developing new tools and techniques… Read more: Next-Generation Kernel Methods for Social Networks