COMM 555 –
Social Networks
Spring, 2010
Tue 10:00-12:00 (ANNS 224)
Prof. Keith Hampton
Office Hours: Fridays 10:30-11:30 (ANNS 327)
DESCRIPTION
Social
networks is the description of a diverse body of theory and empirical study based
upon the premise that relationships,
in contrast to individual attributes,
are useful for understanding social structure and social behavior. Network
analysts study the structure of these relations, how the patterns of social
interactions allocate resources, constrain behavior, and channel information
and social change. Their methods can be quantitative or qualitative.
This course is a
non-mathematical introduction to social network analysis. It is an introduction
to the fundamental concepts related to the theory and measurement of social
structure, including: network size, diversity, centrality, homophily, multiplexity,
frequency of contact, tie duration, and tie strength. We will consider how
using a network perspective can help to conceptualize and clarify many
different types of important sociological questions and offer new ways of
answering those questions. The course will show how attending to the
organization of social relationships can increase our understanding of various
aspects of individual, community, and organizational life, such as health,
social support, job attainment, and the spread of information. Particular
attention is given to the role of communications media and the role of new
technologies in the maintenance and formation of social networks. The topic of
“social capital” – resources people may access through their social contacts –
will also be a central focus of the course. What are the costs and benefits of
different kinds of network structure for people and for groups? We will constantly
ask how and why various forms of personal social capital are unequally
distributed, and how this contributes to social mobility, the reproduction of
inequality, and democratic participation.
PROCEDURES AND EVALUATION
Seminar
sessions will involve intensive discussions of assigned readings. Final grades
will be based on an evaluation of 10 blog postings on the subject of the weekly
course readings (20%), 20 comments on other students’ blog postings (10%), a
presentation outlining the final project (10%), a final project (50%), and
class participation (10%). Students are urged to pay close attention to due
dates, late assignments will not be accepted.
A
major component of the course will involve the development and use of a
personal blog. Students will receive access to the necessary blogging software
and will be provided with basic instruction on how to maintain a blog. Students
are not expected to have prior experience with blogs.
Course
readings and participation: Students
are expected to have read the week’s readings in advance of the course meeting.
Class meetings will be in a seminar format and students should be prepared to participate
in a discussion based on the topic and readings of the week.
Blog
Postings: Students are responsible
for submitting short commentaries on 10 of the weeks’ readings (500-700 words).
Commentaries should focus on a minimum of 3-4 of the readings from each
week and should consist of limited summary; focusing on an evaluation of the
readings and identifying 2-3 questions for discussion during the
class meeting (focus on the papers’ key issues, strengths and limitations, and
a comparison to previous weeks’ readings). Each commentary should be
submitted as a post to the student’s blog by 10:00am on the Sunday before the
class meeting. To be clear, students should post commentaries to their blog
on the Sunday before the topic is discussed in class.
Blog Comments: Each student is responsible for contributing
comments to fellow students’ blogs. Comments should be a minimum of 200 words
and offer a critique of that week’s posting, seek clarification, compare or
contrast postings, or provide additional evidence or new information (such as a
link to a related article, website, etc.). Each student must contribute a
minimum of 20 comments, credit will be given for a maximum of two comments each
week, students cannot comment on the same blog more than three times over
the duration of the course. Comments must be posted by 8:00am on the day
of class for posts related to that week’s readings.
Participation: To encourage active participation all seminar
members will take turns introducing the day's readings and facilitating the
discussion at different times during the semester. At the beginning of each
week’s session discussion leaders will briefly evaluate the readings and
suggest possible questions for discussion.
Presentation (March 23): The in-class presentation is as an opportunity for students
to explore individual interests and to make a preliminary presentation of their
final project. Student's presentations should be 10 minutes long, use
PowerPoint, and follow the format of a formal conference presentation.
The presentation should include
at least the following elements:
Final project (due April 30): The final project can take on one of a number of
different forms to be negotiated individually with the instructor. Projects
should deal with course themes focusing on a topic of interest to the student.
Possibilities include a full research proposal (25-30 double spaced pages), or a
paper of near publishable quality based on the analysis of existing data or
data collected as part of an original research project (25-30 double spaced
pages).
COURSE MATERIALS
Required
Lin,
Nan and Bonnie Erickson. (2008). Social
Capital: An International Research Program. Oxford, UK: Oxford
Other
readings, audio files, and grades will be available from the course Blackboard
website: https://courseweb.library.upenn.edu/
Handouts, information on
assignments, and other announcements will be available from the course blog:
http://www.mysocialnetwork.net/blog10/555/
Optional
Wasserman, Stanley, and
Katherine Faust. (1994). Social
Network Analysis: Methods and Applications.
UCINET: Social Network
Analysis Software.
Contact
Lizz Cooper (support@asc.upenn.edu) to have installed on your Annenberg office
PC.
NodeXL: Social Network
Visualization Software
Free
download, requires Excel 2003: http://www.codeplex.com/NodeXL
BibAuth: Cocitation Analysis
and Journal Names in References Software
http://www.leydesdorff.net/software/bibauth/index.htm
Subscribe
to Socnet, the e-mail list of the
International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA). Send email to listserv@lists.ufl.edu
with the following information in the body of the message (leave the Subject line blank): subscribe
SOCNET <yourfirstname> <yourlastname>
COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1 (January 19) - Introduction and Organization
Week 2 (January 26) – What is Social Network Analysis?
Marin, Alexandra, and Barry
Wellman (in press). Social Network Analysis: An Introduction. In Handbook of Social Network Analysis,
edited by Peter Carrington and John Scott: Sage.
Wellman, Barry. (1999). The
Network Community: an Introduction. Pp. 1-48 in Networks in the Global Village, edited by Barry Wellman.
Wasserman, Stanley &
Katherine Faust. (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications.
Freeman, L. C. (2000).
See you in the Funny Papers: Cartoons and Social Networks. Connections, 23(1),
32-42.
Munge, Peter and Noshir Contractor. (2003). Theories of Communication Networks.
Week 3 (February 2) – Small World and Scale Free
Networks
Milgram, Stanley. (1967). The
Small-World Problem. Psychology Today 1:62-67
Gladwell, M. (1999). Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg. The New Yorker 74(41): 52-64.
Korte, C., &
Milgram, S. (1970). Acquaintance Networks Between Racial Groups. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 15(2), 101-108.
Kilworth, Peter, Christopher McCarthy, Russell Bernard
and Mark House. (2006). The Accuracy of Small World Chains in Social Networks. Social Networks 28(1): 85-96.
Watts,
Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo and
Eric Bonabeau. (2003). Scale-Free Networks. Scientific
American 288(5).
Bonacich, Phillip. (2004).
The Invasion of the Physicists. Social
Networks 26(3): 285-288.
Week 4 (February 9) – Strong Ties and the Context of Community.
Bott, Elizabeth. (1955). Urban Families: Conjugal
Roles and Social Networks. Human
Relations 8:345-83.
Fischer, Claude. (1982). To Dwell Among Friends.
Wellman, Barry, and Scot Wortley. (1990). Different
Strokes From Different Folks: Community Ties and Social Support. American Journal of Sociology 96(3):558-88.
McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Brashears, M. E.
(2006). Social Isolation in America: Changes in Core Discussion Networks over
Two Decades. American Sociological Review, 71, 353-375.
Fischer, Claude. (2009). The 2004 GSS Finding of
Shrunken Social Networks: An Artifact? American
Sociological Review 74:657-669.
McPherson, Miller, Lynn Smith-Lovin, and Matthew E.
Brashears. (2009). Models and Marginals: Using Survey Evidence to Study Social
Networks. American Sociological Review.
Kalmijn, M. (2003).
Shared Friendship Networks and the Life Course. Social Networks, 25,
231-249.
Sampson, Robert. (2006). Collective Efficacy Theory:
Lessons Learned and Directions for Future Inquiry. Pp 149-168 in Taking Stock: The Status of Criminological
Theory, edited by Francis T. Cullen, John Paul Wright, and Kristie R. Blevins.
Week 5
(February 16) – Weak Ties / Social Capital
Granovetter, Mark. (1973).
The Strength of Weak Ties. American
Journal of Sociology 78(6): 1360-1380.
Burt, Ronald. (1993). The Social Structure of
Competition. Pp. 65-103 in Explorations
in Economic Sociology, edited by Richard Swedberg.
Lin, Nan. 2001. Building a Network Theory of Social
Capital. Pp. 3-29 in Social Capital:
Theory and Research, edited by Nan Lin, Karen Cook, and Ronald Burt.
Burt, Ronald. 2001. Structural Holes versus Network
Closure as Social Capital. Pp. 31-56 in Social
Capital: Theory and Research, edited by Nan Lin, Karen Cook, and Ronald
Burt.
Cote, Rochelle and Bonnie Erickson (2009). Untangling
the Roots of Tolerance. American
Behavioral Scientist 52(12): 1664-1689.
Moerbeek, Hester and Henk Flap (2008). Social
Resources and Their Effect on Occupational Attainment through the Life Course.
Pp 133-156 in Social Capital: An
International Research Program, edited by Nan Lin and Bonnie Erickson:
Oxford, UK: Oxford.
Smith, Sandra (2008). A Question of Access or
Mobilization? Understanding Inefficacious Job Referral Networks among the Black
Poor. Pp 157-181 in Social Capital: An
International Research Program, edited by Nan Lin and Bonnie Erickson:
Oxford, UK: Oxford.
Magee, Marc (2008). Civic Participation and Social
Capital: A Social Network Analysis in Two American Counties. Pp 308-327 in Social Capital: An International Research
Program, edited by Nan Lin and Bonnie Erickson: Oxford, UK: Oxford.
Week 6 (February 23) – Network Size and Homophily.
McPherson, Miller,
Erickson, Bonnie. (1997). The Relational Basis of
Attitudes. Pp. 99-122 in Social
Structures: A Network Approach edited by Barry Wellman and S. D. Berkowitz.
Suitor, Jill, Karl Pillemer,
and Shirley Keeton. (1995). When Experience Counts: The Effects of Experiential
and Structural Similarity on Patterns of Support and Interpersonal Stress. Social Forces 73(4): 1573-1588.
Kossinets, Gueorgi, and Duncan
Watts. (2009). Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network. American Journal of Sociology 115(2):
405-450.
Goel, Sharad, Winter
Mason, and Duncan Watts. (2010). “Real and Perceived Attitude Homophily in
Social Networks.” New York: Yahoo! Research.
Hill, R. A., &
Dunbar, R. I. M. (2003). Social Network Size in Humans. Human Nature, 14(1),
53-72.
Killworth, Peter,
Eugene Johnsen, H Russell Bernard, Gene Ann Shelley, and Christopher McCarthy.
1990. Estimating the Size of Personal Networks. Social Networks 12:
289-312.
McCarty, Christopher,
Killworth, Peter, Bernard, Russell, Johnson, Eugene, and Shelley Gene (2001).
Comparing Two Methods for Estimating Network Size. Human Organization.
Week 7 (March 2) –
Measurement
Zwijze-Koning, K.,
& Jong, M. D. T. D. (2005). Auditing Information Structures in
Organizations. Organizational Research Methods, 8(4), 429-453.
Marin, Alexandra & Keith Hampton (2007).
Simplifying the Personal Network Name Generator: Alternatives to Traditional
Multiple and Single Name Generators. Field
Methods 19(2), 163-193.
van der Gaag, Martin, Tom .A.B. Snijders, and Henk
Flap (2008). Position Generator Measures and Their Relationship to Other
Capital Measures. Pp 27-48 in Social
Capital: An International Research Program, edited by Nan Lin and Bonnie
Erickson: Oxford, UK: Oxford.
Fu, Yang-chih (2008). Position Generator and Actual
Networks in Everyday Life: An Evaluation with Contact Diary. Pp 49-64 in Social Capital: An International Research
Program, edited by Nan Lin and Bonnie Erickson: Oxford, UK: Oxford.
McCarty, Christopher, Molina, Jose Luis, Aguilar,
Claudia, & Rota, Laura (2007). A Comparison of Social Network Mapping and Personal
Network Visualization. Field Methods 19(2):
145-162.
Week 8 (March 9) –
Spring Break (NO CLASS!)
Week 9 (March 16) –
Centrality
Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. (1994). Chapter 6:
Centrality and Prestige. In Social
Network Analysis: Methods and Applications.
Freeman, Linton. (1979). Centrality in Social
Networks: Conceptual Clarification. Social
Networks 1: 215-39.
Borgatti, Stephen. (2005).
Centrality and Network Flow. Social
Networks 27(1): 55-71.
Gmur, Markus. (2003).
Co-citation Analysis and the Search for Invisible Colleges: A methodological
Evaluation. Scientometrics 57(1):
27-57.
Park, Han Woo, and
Loet Leydesdorff (2009). Knowledge Linking Structures in Communication Studies
Using Citation Analysis Among Communication Journals. Scientometrics 81(1): 157-175.
Week 10 (March
23) – Presentations.
Week 11
(March 30) – Computer Networks as Social Networks I.
Wellman, Barry, and Milena Gulia. (1999). Net-Surfers
Don’t Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities. Pp. 331-366 in Networks in the Global Village, edited
by Barry Wellman.
Baym, N., Zhang, Y. B., & Lin, M.-C. (2004).
Social Interactions Across Media: Interpersonal Communication on the Internet,
Telephone and Face-to-Face. New Media
& Society, 6(3), 299-318.
Haythornthwaite, Caroline. (2002). Strong, Weak and
Latent Ties and the Impact of New Media. The Information Society 18:1-17.
Hampton, Keith & Barry Wellman (2003). Neighboring
in Netville: How the Internet Supports Community and Social Capital in a Wired
Suburb. City and Community 2(4),
277-311.
Hampton, Keith (2007). Neighborhoods in the Network
Society: The e-Neighbors Study. Information,
Communication & Society 10(5). 714-748.
Hampton, Keith N (in press). Internet Use and the
Concentration of Disadvantage. American
Behavioral Scientist.
Mesch, Gustavo, & Talmud, Ilan. (2007). Similarity
and the Quality of Online and Offline Social Relationships Among Adolescents in
Week 12 (April 6) –
Computer Networks as Social Networks II.
Steinfield, Charles, Nicole B Ellison, and Cliff
Lampe. (2008). Social Capital, Self-esteem, and use of Online Social Network
Sites. Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology 29:434-445.
Backstrom, Lars, Jonathan Chang, Cameron Marlow, and
Itamar Rosenn (2009). “How Diverse is Facebook?” Palo Alto: Facebook.
Wellman, Barry (2001). Physical Place and
Hampton, Keith N, Lauren F Sessions, and Eun Ja Her
(2010). “Core Networks and New Technology: Internet, Call Phone Use, Network
Size, and Diversity.” Working Paper. Annenberg School for Communication,
University of Pennsylvania.
Hampton, Keith N, Eun Ja Her, and Chul-joo Lee (2010).
“New Technology, Social Participation, and the Diversity of Social Networks.” Working Paper. Annenberg School for
Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
Hampton, Keith N, Oren Livio, and Lauren F Sessions. (in
press). The Social Life of Wireless Urban Spaces: Internet Use, Social Networks,
and the Public Realm. Journal of
Communication.
Week 13 (April 13) – Diffusion and Influence
Rogers,
Coleman, James S., Elihu Katz, and H. Menzel. (1957). The
Diffusion of an Innovation Among Physicians. Sociometry 20: 253-270.
Weimann, Gabriel. (1982). On the Importance of
Marginality: One More Step into the Two-Step Flow of Communication. American Sociological Review 47(6):
764-773.
Markus, Lynne (1987). Toward a ‘Critical Mass’ Theory
of Interactive Media: Universal Access, Interdependences and Diffusion. Communication Research 14(5): 491-511.
Ivkovic, Zoran, and Scott
Weisbenner (2007). Information Diffusion Effects in Individual Investors’
Common Stock Purchases: Covet Thy Neighbors’ Investment Choices. The Review of Financial Studies 20(4):
1327-1357.
Burt, Ronald (2009). Neighbor Networks: Competitive Advantage
Local and Personal. Oxford, UK: Oxford. [SELECTIONS]
Week 14 (April 20) – Health
Cohen, S., Brissette,
Dickens, C.M., L. McGowen, C. Percival, J. Douglas, B.
Tomensen, L. Cotter, A Heagerty, and F.H. Creed. (2004). Lack of Close
Confidant, but not Depression, Predicts Further Cardiac Events After Myocardial
Infraction. Heart 90(5): 518-522.
Bearman, P. S., Moody,
J., & Stovel, K. (2004). Chains of Affection: The Structure of Adolescent
Romantic and Sexual Networks. American Journal of Sociology, 110(1),
44-91.
Christakis, Nicholas, and James Fowler. (2007). The
Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years. The
Fowler, James and Nicholas Christakis. (2008). Dynamic
Spread of Happiness in a Large Social Network. British Medical Journal.
Week 15
(April 27) – Catch-up and Discuss Final Papers