Introduction to Social Network Analysis - Part 1 of 3

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The social world is full of entities that are connected to one another. People are connected to one another through friendships, the workplace, and neighborhoods. Places might be connected to one another through the people who frequent them or the moving of items from one location to another. These connections, or networks, have important consequences on outcomes such as how information is shared, diseases are spread, or people engage in particular activities. This workshop offers an introduction to social network analysis, which is used to study relationships, whether among people,places, or other entities. Network analysis is a flexible analytical tool that can offer a fresh perspective on both quantitative and qualitative data.

This workshop happens in three parts and introduces participants to three different analytic approaches to the study of networks.

In this first installment of the workshop series, we will discuss the underlying theory and rationale behind network analysis, which identifies relationships, rather than independent, static actors as the unit of social analysis. We will discuss measures of centrality (degree, closeness, betweenness, and eigenvector), which identify the most important units in a network, and also learn the basics of drawing networks using R software. 

Note that this workshop assumes minimal, but at least some,working knowledge of R. Prior to attending, if you have not done so already,please do the following: 1. Download R (https://www.r-project.org/) 2. Download RStudio (https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/ (Please download the first option, RStudio Desktop, which is free and open source.)(If in doubt, download from the CRAN server that is closest to you geographically.) 3. Open both programs and make sure they work(note that R must be installed before RStudio will function.)

Speaker Biography: Melissa Whatley holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. She is currently a postdoctoral research scholar in NC State’s Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, where she conducts research surrounding community college student transfer, community college campus climate, and community college international education. She specializes in quantitative research methods, including quasi-experimental design and network analysis.