Starting with Social Network Analysis

In this course, you will learn everything you need to get started with doing social network analysis (SNA). Taking this course will be the fastest way for you to learn about the nature of this unique perspective and to understand its major concepts. Additionally, I will provide executive summaries of foundational social network studies (which will be continously updated) to get you started with your literature work.

Specifically, you will learn...

- …about the basic concepts that we have to understand to do and read about social network analysis.

- …about everything you need to set up your own network study (or to understand the setup of another social network study).
- …about common strategies to collect relational data.
- …how to analyse network data.
- …what software packages exist that may   help you with social network data collection or data analysis.
- …about influential texts in the field of social network research.

-... how you can use the techniques of SNA to reflect about your own life and career.

There are plenty of exercises included in this course to help you solidify your learning.

Who will be your instructor?
My name is Dominik E. Froehlich and I am an active researcher of social networks for quite a few years now. I mostly study networks in the domain of learning and instruction, but occasionally I ventured to other fields, such as organization and management. I'm well published in this field in terms of academic articles, I'm editing a book about social network analysis with a well-known publisher, and my work on social networks has won international academic awards. Speaking of awards: I also won awards for my (online) teaching -- so hopefully this translates into a great learning experience for you. I'm always available for questions and suggestions for further lections in the course in order to make the course even more relevant to you!       

Is this course right for you?

While this course is explicitly targeted at researchers at any level (including students, of course!), organizational consultants and managers may find the course useful to understand the basics of how work is often organized in an informal way.

Need even more information?

Need more information? Check out the preview videos, the curriculum, or this list of learnings... and don't forget that you can get a refund within 30 days, no questions asked.

You will learn...

- …why social network   analysis  is receiving so much interest   these days---and why it will pay off for you to learn about it.
- …about the general perspective that social network analysis takes and how this perspective is   different or novel.
- …about how we can define the nature of social networks.
- …about a central concept of  social network analysis: nodes, which are also called vertices or  actors.
- …about modes and the  disctinction between one-mode networks and two-mode networks.
- …about another important   concept of social network analysis: egdes, which are also called ties or arcs or relationships.
- …about how you may classify differnt types of networks.
- …how networks are made up by vertices and edges.
- …about the difference  between sociocentric and egocentric networks in social network  analysis.
- …about what types of research questions are possible to answer using social network analysis.
- …about the different units of analysis that you may investigate using social network analysis.
- …about the boundary  specification problem; a very important challenge in any social network   study.
- …about theorizing within social network studies.
- …about the key features of  social capital theory.
- …about the key features of  cognitive social structures.
- …about the key features of  balance theory.
- …about the key features of  homophily.
- …about the quality of   relational data that we need for social network analysis.
- …about the specificities of   collecting quantitative network data via a survey.
- …that ethical considerations   are especially important when conducting social network analysis.
- …about two major ways of  storing quantitative network data: the matrix format and the edgelist   format.
- …how to present quantitative  data in different formats (edgelist, matrix, and the visual representation)  and how to prepare your data accordingly.
- …about nodal degree, a very basic put important centrality metric frequently used in social network   analysis.
- …about betweenness, an often used metric for centrality or brokerage in networks.
- …about closeness, an indicator for distance between one node and the rest of the network.
- …where to download the open source software Gephi, which we will use for network visualization.
- …how to navigate in Gephi.
- …to calculate key metrics of   social network analysis in Gephi.
- …about how to apply   layouting algorithms in Gephi.
- …how to change the   appearance of your network graph based on previously calculated metrics.
- …where to download the   software Vennmaker, which we will use for network data collection.
- …how to navigate in VennMaker and how this software may help you in collection relational data.

- ...and more...