GEOG498Q

This course is intended as a survey of the theory and methods pertaining to social networks. Class time will be devoted to learning principles, theoretical perspectives, and appropriate software packages (mainly those in R) for designing a study for gathering network data, and analyzing those data. The readings are a combination of introductory-level material, classic, scholarly readings in the field, and empirical studies that apply social network analytic techniques to topics relevant to the social sciences as a whole. The first weeks are structured around readings, group discussion, and lab (e.g. going through example scripts in R). The last few weeks are geared more towards students individual projects, culminating in small presentations (similar to conference paper presentations) on a topic of your choosing, and a final paper/project, again shaped according to your own needs/interests.