Doing Social Network Research

Garry Robins is Professor in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne. He has won research awards from the Psychometric Society and the American Psychological Association, and is a past winner of the Freeman Award for the scientific study of social structure. He is co-editor of the journal Network Science, a member of the Board of the International Network for Social Network Analysis, and former editor of the Journal of Social Structure. His research has been centred on the development of exponential random graph models for social networks, as well as a wide range of empirical and applied social network studies from cattle herding to criminal networks, from drug-sharing to environmental management, from little data to Big Data.

The difference with social networks research Fundamental network concepts and ideas Thinking about networks: Research questions and study design Social systems and data structures: relational ties and actor attributes Network observation and measurement The empirical context of network data collection Ethical issues for social networks research Network visualization: What it can and cannot do A review of social network analytic methods Drawing conclusions: Inference, generalization, causality and other weighty matters

Garry has produced a first rate book that explains in detail how to do social network research. He masterfully focuses on research design drawing on his years of experience conducting network research. This book fills a big gap in the literature and is a must have for all social network researchers. -- Martin G Everett This is a terrific book. It has a unique focus on social network research design, the critical interface between conceptual thinking and empirical research. It also has a wealth of detailed guidance on how to do network research, covering problem formulation, data collection, and data analysis, and is supported by interesting, diverse and appropriate examples. -- Peter Carrington Robins has provided a comprehensive exposition of social network research that teems with insights which seamlessly alternate between theory and real-world, practical examples. This book is a "must read" for anyone interested in conducting social network research and a "must have" for scholars who want to understand the distinctiveness of network research. Robins' thoughtful approach to network research will help improve the quality of future scientific investigations into the causes and consequences of social network processes across a wide range of applications. -- Tom Valente I have been waiting a long time for a book that educates researchers on how to design network studies and how to gather network data, paying less attention to the methodology necessary to do the analysis. The book is finally here. Visualization, design, measurement, data structures, dealing with subjects - these are the topics here, topics that are usually given none or very little attention in standard network methodology books. It will be the first book mentioned on my network analysis course syllabi. And it should be on every network researcher's bookshelf. Such a text has been a long time coming. And I am very glad it is now here. It does indeed pull back many curtains of the secret world of network science. Professor Robins is a wizard! -- Stanley Wasserman Two categories of readers will find this book particularly interesting. First, those considering an investigation in connection with networks. They will find both a recent presentation of the area and support at each milestone to select the appropriate tools and literature. On the other hand, those who are interested to locate the specifics - both methodological and conceptual - of a research area that has undergone significant changes in recent years. -- Emilien Schultz