Network society

This is a MSc level course on social network theory and analysis. Network analysis focuses on relationships between or among social entities (which can be individuals and/or organizations). It is widely used in the social and behavioral sciences, as well as in economics, organizational studies, and industrial engineering. The focus of the course is both theoretical and methodological. In the theoretical part, we discuss key ideas and concepts of social network analysis. We will consider the classic network theories about how networks affect humans. How do networks affect well-being? How do networks affect the adoption and diffusion of new technologies? How do networks influence persuasion and attitude formation? How does social media affect social networking? We will also consider in what kind of networks humans and teamwork prosper. In addition, we will also pay attention to how people shape and develop their networks. We will discuss how humans, sometimes by using technology, structure their social networks over time. In the methodological part of the course, we will present and practice with a variety of tools and programs to analyze social networks. Topics include structural and locational properties of actors, such as centrality, subgroups and cliques, and equivalence of actors. In addition, we will focus on the analysis of ego-centered networks, with properties such as density and constraint.

The course introduces theories and techniques of social network analysis and discusses their application to questions of technology adoption and use and innovation in general.

After the course, the student is able to:

• explain the main ideas of network theories,
• apply network concepts for the description of specific characteristics of social networks,
• apply the R-Igtraph package to analyze social networks,
• (apply, analyse, and) empirically evaluate network theories and concepts for solving issues of well-being, health, the built environment, social media, or life online.

You must meet one of the following collections of requirements

• Collection 1
• Completed Final examination Bsc program
• Collection 2
• Completed Pre-Master