SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

Note the following links:

• The SIENA website where you can find the SIENA program for the statistical analysis of longitudinal social network data, and the analysis of social networks by Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs).
• The StOCNET website where you can find the StOCNET software for analysis of social networks by a variety of stochastic/statistical models.
• Some preprints and reprints of my papers on social network analysis can be found at my list of publications and abstracts.
• The Nuffield Network of Network Researchers, a multi-disciplinary group of researchers interested in social networks at Nuffield College .
• During 2002-2008 a research program The dynamics of networks and behavior is active, in cooperation between researchers of the universities of Groningen and Utrecht (graduate school ICS) and Maastricht (dept. of Health Promotion and Health Education).
• During 2007-2010 an international research program Dynamics of Actors and Networks across Levels: Individuals, Groups, Organizations, and Social Settings is active, in cooperation between researchers of the universities of Groningen and Oxford, Konstanz, Paris-Dauphine, Barcelona (Autonomous University) and Sevilla, Orebro,Lugano (University of Italian Switzerland), and Cardiff. This is a European Collaborative Research Project in the EUROCORES scheme of the ESF. This research program extends and applies the methodology used in SIENA. The website of the research program can be found at http://stat.gamma.rug.nl/ECRP-DANL/.
• Martin van der Gaag has an interesting webpage on the measurement of social capital.
• The Journal of Social Structure, an on-line journal about Social Networks .
• The Complex Open Systems Research Network (COSNet) is an activity funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) for interdisciplinary research on Network Analysis.
• The MelNet website is dedicated to social network theory, method and analysis using exponential random graph (p*) models for social networks.
• The statnet website has a lot of material on statnet, which is an R package for the analysis, simulation and visualization of network data.
• An interesting site with useful links about social networks is the site on Formation of Social and Economic Networks maintained by Leigh Tesfatsion.
• Rob Cross has an interesting website on Organisational Network Analysis.
• If you need to consult definitions of various terms for graphs / networks, you may look at the Graph and Digraph Glossary of Bill Cherowitzo.
• A lot can be learnt from Steve Borgatti's Instructional Social Network Analysis Website.
• Steve also directs the LINKS Center devoted to the study and optimization of social networks in organizations.
• Robert Hanneman and Mark Riddle have a free online introductory textbook on social network analysis (2005), Introduction to social network methods.
• On the Skyeome.net page of Skye Bender-Demoll, you will find a lot of interesting material on a wide variety of network topics.
• Barry Wellman always teaches an introductory course "Networks for Newbies" on network analysis at the Sunbelt conferences; transparencies for his course can be downloaded. His website list of publications is also pretty extensive.

You can here get some information about the following statistical methods for social network analysis, and download the associated computer programs:

1. program SIENA, Simulation Investigation for Empirical Network Analysis, for the statistical analysis of the evolution of entire social networks, based on data consisting of two or more repeated measurements of the network; this program is based on Snijders (2001);
   and for MCMC-ML estimation of the p* model, also called Exponential Random Graph Model (ERGM); new specifications for such models are proposed in Snijders, Pattison, Robins, and Handcock (2006).
2. program BLOCKS, for stochastic block modeling for undirected, directed and valued graphs.
3. program ZO, for analysis of graphs with given degrees, or if you wish, 0-1 matrices with given marginals;
4. program SNOWBALL, for estimation of the size of a (hidden) population from a one-wave snowball sample.

This program can be used for undirected as well as directed graphs, but also for undirected or directed valued graphs (where you could think of 3 to 6 values).

The program is written in Delphi, for use under Windows (1995 and up). The current version is 1.7 (September 2006).
BLOCKS is most easily executed from the StOCNET environment.

This method was applied, e.g., in

• Marc Flandreau and Clemens Jobst, "The Ties that Divide: A Network Analysis of the International Monetary System, 1890–1910", The Journal of Economic History, 65 (2005), 977-1007.

• You can download the StOCNET and BLOCKS programs with documentation from the StOCNET website.
• Download the BLOCKS manual in screen version (version 1.6, 2004);
• Download the BLOCKS manual in print version (version 1.6, 2004).

The programs in ZO implement the methods published in the articles

• Snijders, T.A.B. (1991). Enumeration and simulation methods for 0-1 matrices with given marginals.
  Psychometrika, 56, 397-417 ,
  as well as a simulation algorithm proposed in
• M. Molloy & B. Reed (1995). A critical point for random graphs with a given degree sequence.
  Random Structures and Algorithms 6, 161-179.

• An application:
  Bonacich, Ph., Oliver, A., and Snijders, T.A.B., Controlling for size in centrality scores.
  Social Networks, 20 (1998), 135-141.
• Another simulation method:
  A.R. Rao, R. Jana, and S. Bandyopadhyay (1996). A Markov chain Monte Carlo method for generating random (0,1) matrices with given marginals.
  Sankhya ser. A 58, 225-242.
• A review of some simulation methods:
  John M. Roberts, jr. (2000). Simple methods for simulating sociomatrices with given marginal totals.
  Social Networks 22, 273-283.

• You can download the StOCNET and ZO (version 2.3, July 2002) programs with documentation from the StOCNET website.
• Download the ZO manual in screen version (version 2.3, 2002);
• Download the ZO manual in print version (version 2.3, 2002).

Further research on this topic is under way.
The program is written in Turbo Pascal, and can be used under DOS.

You can download a zipped collection of files, which can be unzipped using PKUNZIP or WINZIP.

• download program with source code and brief documentation [32KB].