Social Network Analysis

John Scott is an Honorary Professor at the Universities of Essex, Exeter, and Copenhagen. He was formerly a professor of sociology at the Universities of Essex and Leicester, and pro-vice-chancellor for research at the University of Plymouth. He has been president of the British Sociological Association, Chair of the Sociology Section of the British Academy, and in 2013 was awarded the CBE for Services to Social Science. His work covers theoretical sociology, the history of sociology, elites and social stratification, and social network analysis. His most recent books include British Social Theory: Recovering Lost Traditions before 1950 (SAGE, 2018), Envisioning Sociology. Victor Branford, Patrick Geddes, and the Quest for Social Reconstruction (with Ray Bromley, SUNY Press, 2013), Objectivity and Subjectivity in Social Research (with Gayle Letherby and Malcolm Williams, SAGE, 2011).

• What is Social Network Analysis?The data used in social network analysisIs there a network theory?An overviewThe History of Social Network AnalysisThe sociogram and sociometryBalance and group dynamicsInformal organization and community relationsMatrices and cliquesFormal models of community and kinshipFormal methods triumphantGetting by without the help of your friendsEntry of the social physicistsData Collection for Social Network AnalysisAsking questionsMaking observationsUsing documentsBoundaries in relational dataPositional and reputational approachesDoes sampling make sense?Organizing and Analyzing Network DataMatrices and relational dataMatrix conventionsAn analysis of directorship dataDirection and value in relational dataComputer programs for social network analysisTerminology for Network AnalysisThe language of network analysisMore than joining up the linesThe flow of information and resourcesDensity of connectionsDensity in egonetsProblems in density measuresA digression on absolute densityCommunity structure and densityPopularity, Mediation and ExclusionLocal and overallMediation and betweennessCentrality boosts centralityCentralization and graph centresThe absolute centre of a graphBank centrality in corporate networksGroups, Factions and Social DivisionsIdentifying subgraphsThe components of a networkThe strength and stability of componentsCycles and circuitsThe contours of componentsCliques within componentsIntersecting social circlesComponents and citation circlesStructural Locations, Classes and PositionsThe structural equivalence of pointsClusters and similaritiesDivide and CONCORDivisions and equivalenceRegular equivalence in roles and functionsCorporate interlocks and participationsSocial Change and DevelopmentStructural change and unintended consequencesSmall-world networksModelling social changeTesting explanationsVisualizing and ModellingTaking space seriouslyUsing multidimensional scalingPrincipal components and factorsNon-metric methodsHow many dimensions?Worth a thousand words?Elites, communities and influenceBusiness elites and bank powerNotesBibliographyIndex

′One of my go-to books for Social Network Analysis.′