SNAG formed in 2006, partly as a spin off from a project involving sociologists at the Universities of Manchester and Essex. Our aim is to facilitate communication between sociologists who have an interest in formal social network analysis (SNA). We have an email discussion list (join here) and we have held a series of seminars and workshops over the last two years.
SNA is well known outside of the UK, particularly in US, French and Italian sociology. It is not very well known within UK sociology, however. We hope to put it on the agenda.
The methods of SNA emerged out of interdisciplinary exchanges both within the social sciences and between these sciences and the branch of mathematics known as ‘graph theory’. ‘Graph’ conjures up an image of bar charts etc. but to mathematicians a graph is a diagram in which a series of points or ‘nodes’ (technically ‘vertices’) are linked in varying ways by connecting lines (see below). Sometimes connecting lines have arrows indicating a direction; in which case they are referred to as ‘arcs’. In other cases they have no arrows/direction and are referred to as ‘edges’. Some connecting lines bear a value which indicates the weighting of the connection.
Defined in this way graphs can be treated as visual representations of networks, with nodes representing concrete actors (e.g. individuals, organisations, nation states) or social positions/roles and connecting lines representing a specified type of relationship between those actors/positions. Indeed, independently of graph theory some early social scientists explored ways of mapping social networks akin to this. Social network analysis grew out of a marriage between these early efforts and developments in graph theory. The result was a method which allows for the calculation of the formal properties of social networks and their members. Very simply, for example, the node that I have marked ‘A’ in the above graph is more central than any others in two senses: it has more connections than any other node and it connects two sides of the graph. To give another simple example, this graph involves 10 connecting lines out of a possible 28, giving it a ‘density’ of 10/28 = 0.36. This might be compared with other, similar graphs and the effects of density thereby explored.
As SNA has developed, graph theoretical procedures have been supplemented by techniques from matrix algebra, cluster analysis, correspondence analysis and others. Always, however, the aim is to translate mathematical possibilities into meaningful social scientific measures and observations. And in some of the best examples such quantitative data is integrated with a rich contextual understanding and analysis derived from archival and ethnographic sources.
SNA is not a theory. It can be utilised from a variety of perspectives. Much application has been rooted in rational action traditions but the method lends itself equally to interactionist interest in networks and ‘worlds’, Eliasian interest in ‘figurations’, Bourdieusian interest in ‘fields’, interest in ‘World Systems’, indeed any approach to sociology which focuses upon relations/interactions and desires to model and explore them formally.
Current SNAG members are applying these methods in a range of areas including health, criminology, political and economic sociology. The techniques have also been applied to kinship/friendship studies. There is clear potential for further applications.
Forthcoming Events
Seminars and Workshops on Social Network Analysis
The BSA’s Social Network Analysis Group (SNAG) have organised the following the seminars and workshops for the 07-08 academic year. There is no fee for attendance/participation at any of the events but numbers are restricted and advance booking is necessary. To book please e-mail Daniela D’Andreta stating which seminars/workshops you wish to book for.
13th December 2007
SNA Developments
University of Sheffield
Speakers: Katherine Faust (University of California, Irvine, USA ), Phillipa Pattison (University of Melbourne, Australia), Tom Snijders (Oxford University, UK), Christina Prell (Sheffield University, UK).
15th January 2008
SNA and Theory
University of Manchester
Speakers: Harrison White (Columbia University, USA), John Levi Martin (University of Wisconsin , USA), John Scott (Essex University, UK).
11th March 2008
SNA and the Quali-Quant Interface
University of Essex
Speakers: TBC
Past Events
27th September 2007
SNA Applications
University of Manchester
Speakers: Mario Diani (University of Trento, Italy), Peter Klerks (PVDA, Amsterdam, Netherlands), Miriam Meyerhoff (Edinburgh, UK), Wouter de Nooy (Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam, Netherlands).
13th September 2007
Introductory Workshop
University of Manchester.
A one-day workshop, covering basic concepts and involving a hands-on beginner’s guide to the Pajek network-analysis software, will be run on two separate occasions in Manchester.
16th March 2006, University of Manchester
Introductory workshop on network analysis and the use of the (free-to-download) Pajek network analysis software package.
Contact the Convenor
Professor Nick Crossley
School of Social Sciences
University of Manchester
Send an email.
Back to top.^
Return to Study Groups homepage.
