COMM 481 –
Social Networks
Annenberg School for
Communication
University of Pennsylvania
Spring, 2010
Tue 1:30-4:30 (ANNS 224)
Prof. Keith Hampton
Office Hours: Fridays 10:30-11:30 (ANNS 327)
TA: Lauren Sessions
Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:30-3:30 (ANNS 124)
DESCRIPTION
Social network analysis is
the study of the patterns of social relations. Network analysis examines how
the structure of social relations allocates resources, constrains behavior, and
channels social change. It has applications in the study of friendship, communities,
social support, Internet use, organizational behavior, mental and physical
health, and the diffusion of information. This seminar takes a non-mathematical
approach to the study of network theories and methods. It is an introduction to
the fundamental concepts of social structure, including: network size, diversity,
density, centrality, homophily, multiplexity, frequency of contact, tie
duration, and tie strength. The course focuses on how network structure is
related to everyday life, such as health, access to social support, job
attainment, and the spread of information. Particular attention is given to the
role of communications media in facilitating interpersonal connectivity (face-to-face,
telephone, and new media), and the role of information and communication
technologies (i.e. the Internet) in social support. Students will critically
examine empirical studies, formulate theories of how networks influence
behavior and how behavior influences networks, and test theories through the
use of network methods.
REQUIREMENTS
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
(30%), 20 comments on other students’ blog postings (10%), four assignments (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 (300-500 words). Commentaries should focus
on all 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 125 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.
Assignments: Students are responsible for completing all four of the
following assignments. The following are intended as brief outlines of each
assignment, detailed instructions will be provided in class and supporting material
will be posted to the course blog.
1) The Small World of the University
(17%). Handout: February 2, Part 1 due: February 9, Part II in class on March
30, Part III due: April 30. Your goal is to get your folder to the target
person through the shortest chain of intermediaries. Following the instructions
in the assignment handout, start the chain by passing your folder to someone on
the Penn campus that you have had at least several conversations with outside
the classroom and who is more likely than you to reach the target person. Each intermediary
is instructed to complete an online survey describing themselves. Part I (5%): Post
a commentary to your blog (500-750 words) addressing the questions and
hypotheses outlined in the assignment handout. Part II (2%) (in class): Meet
with your small group and compile the results using the group handout. Part III
(10%): Post a short paper to your blog (1250-2000 words) discussing the
findings of your individual project and the aggregated findings of your group,
address the questions and hypotheses you formulated in Part I.
2) Important Matters
(5%), Handout: February 9, Due: February 23. Listen to the radio interview
featuring Prof. Lynn Smith-Lovin (
3) Communication Diary
(15%), Handout: February 23, Due: March 30. Over the next week, track the
interactions you have with people using ‘new media’ (e.g., mobile phones and
the Internet). Addressing the questions in the assignment handout, write a blog
posting (1250-1750 words) discussing your findings. Bring the project handout to
class, meet with your small group, combine your results using the group handout
and make a short 10 minute group presentation explaining your findings.
4) Network Measures (13%),
Handout: March 23, Due: April 20. Administer the “important matters” name
generator, the “position generator,” and short demographic survey to 20 people.
Write a blog posting (1250-2000 words) discussing the interview process and
your findings.
COURSE MATERIALS
Handouts, information on
assignments, and other announcements will be available from the course blog:
http://www.mysocialnetwork.net/blog10/481/
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.
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
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.
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,
Week 4 (February 9)
– Strong Ties
Bott,
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
Week 5 (February
16) – Weak Ties
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.
Cote, Rochelle and Bonnie Erickson (2009). Untangling
the Roots of Tolerance. American
Behavioral Scientist 52(12): 1664-1689.
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,
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.
Week 7 (March 2) –
Measurement
Zwijze-Koning, K., and
Jong, M. D. T. d. (2005). Auditing Information Structures in Organizations. Organizational
Research methods, 8(4), 429-453.
Marin, Alexandra, and 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.
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.
Krebs, V. (2002).
Uncloaking Terrorist Networks. First Monday, 7(4).
Valente, T., Unger,
J., & Johnson, A. (2005). Do popular students smoke? The Association
Between Popularity and Smoking Among Middle School Students. Journal of
Adolescent Health, 37, 323-329.
Week 10 (March 23) -- 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.
Mesch, Gustavo, & Talmud, Ilan. (2007). Similarity
and the Quality of Online and Offline Social Relationships Among Adolescents in
Week 11 (March 30) – Small World Assignment Part II
(ATTENDANCE MANDITORY!)
Week 12 (April 6) –
Computer Networks as Social Networks II.
Hodgkinson, Tom. (2008, January 14). “With Friends
Like These…”. Guardian.
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.
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, 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) – Search Process and Information
Flow
Tepperman, Lorne. (1975). Deviance as a Search
Process. Canadian Journal of Sociology 1
(3): 277-294.
Rogers, Everett. (2003). Diffusion Networks. Pp.
300-364 in Diffusion of Innovations.
Coleman, James S., Elihu Katz, and H. Menzel. (1957). The
Diffusion of an Innovation Among Physicians. Sociometry 20: 253-270.
Ivkovic, Zoran &
Weisbenner, Scott (2007). Information Diffusion Effects in Individual
Investors’ Common Stock Purchases: Covet Thy Neighbors’ Investment Choices. The Review of Financial Studies 20(4):
1327-1357.
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
Infarction. 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
Week 15 (April
27) – Catch-up and Discuss Final Papers