Network analysis: social, ecological, and social-ecological approaches FSS:ENSb1315 (Spring 2024) Yanhua Shi & Harald Waxenecker Complexity …complex system [organized complexity] • interacting parts are self-similar • a system with a sizable number of agents • adhere to specific norms/rules • behave in ways not predicted by the parts in isolation (non-linear) = collectively exhibit emergent properties and self-organization = producing global-level patterns and properties for the system as a whole [Nicolás-Carlock & Luna-Pla, 2021] Social Network Analysis (SNA) Ecological Network Analysis (ENA) Social-Ecological Network Analysis (SENA) Social networks We need relational data!!! “The most general characteristic of social science data is that they are rooted in cultural values and symbols. Unlike the pysical data of the natural sciences, social science data are constituted through meanings, motives, definitions and typifications. […] The principle type of data can be referred to as ‘attribute data’ and ‘relational data’.” [Scott, 2013: 3] Style of research Survey research Ethnographic research Documentary research Source Questionnaires, interviews Observations Texts Type of data Attribute Relational Type of analysis Variable analysis Network analysis [Based on Scott, 2013] Comte: social physics, social atoms, social gravitation Durkheim: human societies are like biological systems = interrelated elements “social regularities were to be found not in the intentions of individuals but in the structure of the social environments in which they were embedded” [Borgatti et al., 2009: 892] Georg Simmel: web of group affiliations, power of structural properties …to understand social behavior, we must study patterns of social interactions èSocial psychologists: who emphasized how organized patterns shape how we see and interpret the world èSocial anthropologists: who focused on the relationship between social patterns and social structure Jacob Moreno, psiciatrist, 1932 “Moreno and his collaborator, Helen Jennings, had mapped the social network at Hudson using “sociometry,” a technique for eliciting and graphically representing individuals’ subjective feelings toward one another (Fig. 1). The links in this social network, Moreno argued, provided channels for the flow of social influence and ideas among the girls.” [Borgatti et al., 2009: 892] Radcliff Brown, anthropologist, 1960s 3 main lines of inquiry: “…societies not as monolithic entities but rather as a “pattern or network (or ‘system’)…” ”…kinship systems as relational algebras… regularities might underlie the apparent chaos of human social systems…” “…network-based explanations to account for a range of outcomes…” [Borgatti et al., 2009: 893] 1970s: Harrison White, Mark Granovetter, Barry Wellman, etc. “…sociology, in spite of its claims to study social phenomena, was beholden to individualistic forms of analysis that drew conclusions based on the aggregated characteristics of individuals, often aided by statistical analysis of survey data. This, he believed, was a mistake. Thus, along with his students, he developed an approach that drew on case studies to focus on social relations and the patterns that emerge from them. The result is what we now know as social network analysis…” [Everton, 2012] “…strength of weak ties (SWT) theory developed by Granovetter. Granovetter argued that strong ties tend to be “clumpy” in the sense that one’s close contacts tend to know each other. As a result, some of the information they pass along is redundant—what a person hears from contact A is the same as what the person heard from B. In contrast, weak ties (e.g., mere acquaintances) can easily be unconnected to the rest of one’s network, and therefore more likely to be sources of novel information. Twenty years later, this work has developed into a general theory of social capital—the idea that whom a person is connected to, and how these contacts are connected to each other, enable people to access resources that ultimately lead them to such things as better jobs and faster promotions.” Social network analysis …its own journal: Social Networks Several applied fields: business administration, resource management, decisionmaking processes, public health, crime fighting, corruption studies, dynamics on social media, etc. “…the oldest criticism of social network research is that the field lacks a (native) theoretical understanding—it is “merely descriptive” or “just methodology.” [Borgatti et al., 2009: 893] …growing body of theory - Types of ties - Importance of structure - Research questions / goal - Theoretical mechanisms Borgatti, Everet, Johnson & Agneessens, 2022: 6 Types of ties Importance of structure “… a fundamental axiom of social network analysis is the concept that structure matters.” [Borgatti et al., 2009: 893] Structural characteristics Node position Dyadic characteristics Research questions …explain the formation of ties …predict network propierties What is the basis of friendship ties? How do NGOs pick alliance partners? = opportunity-based = benefit-based …consequences of networks “…a node’s position in a network determines in part the opportunities and constraints that it encounters, and in this way plays an important role in a node’s outcomes.” [Borgatti et al., 2009: 894] How or to what extend does the network influence your outputs, results, decisions, etc.? Theoretical mechanisms Direct transmision from node to node (biophysical resources, ideas, etc.) “The adaptation mechanism states that nodes become homogeneous as a result of experiencing and adapting to similar social environments. Much like explanations of convergent forms in biology, if two nodes have ties to the same (or equivalent) others…” = homophily = reciprocity = binding: “…a new entity whose properties can be different from those of its constituent elements” [Borgatti et al., 2009: 894] [Borgatti et al., 2009: 894] = exclusion: “…competitive situations in which one node, by forming a relation with another, excludes a third node.” [Borgatti et al., 2009: 895] Some research papers… H1. Countries with wealthier trading partners tend to become or remain being net exporters of carbon overtime. Wealthy trading partner CO2 H3. Countries that are net carbon exporters will tend to increase their export ties to wealthier countries overtime. Net carbon exporter Actor Extracurricular activity e.g., environmental education How do youth choose activities? Assessing the relative importance of the micro-selection mechanisms behind adolescent extracurricular activity participation [Schaefer et al., 2022] = Stochastic Actor-Oriented Model (SAOM) = longitudinal data https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/23251042.2023.2216371?needAccess=true Animals as… …metaphor/symbols …citizen …biodiversity …resources [Koop-Monteiro et al., 2023] [Koop-Monteiro et al., 2023] https://github.com/leifeld/dna https://www.philipleifeld.com [Kurten et al., 2022] Like to drink: Dynamics of liking alcohol posts and effects on alcohol use Like to drink: Dynamics of liking alcohol posts and effects on alcohol use Girls are (1.38) more likely to receive a like compared to boys. It is 1.5 times more likely that someone receives a like form the same gender. The likelihood to receive a like if you post a non alcohilic post (0.011) is 1.48 times lower, compared to the likelihood to receive a like when posting an alcohol post (0.017). Males were more likely to drink alcohol than females; for example, […] the probability of a 20-year-old male drinking on a Friday would be 38.9% compared to 31.4% for a same-aged female. […] The fictional male would increase his likelihood of drinking further if he also liked an alcohol post, from 38.9% to approximately 53.5%. f f f m m [Kurten et al., 2022] = Exponentiall Random Graph Model (ERGM) = cross-sectional data References Everton SF (2012). Social Network Analysis: An Introduction. In: Disrupting Dark Networks. Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press: 3-31. Brian D. Fath, Harald Asmus, Ragnhild Asmus, Dan Baird, Stuart R. Borrett, Victor N. de Jonge, Alessandro Ludovisi, Nathalie Niquil, Ursula M. Scharler, Ulrike Schückel, Matthias Wolff, (2019). Ecological network analysis metrics: The need for an entire ecosystem approach in management and policy, Ocean & Coastal Management, Volume 174, p 1-14 Fiscus, D. & Fath, B. (2018). Foundations for Sustainability. A Coherent Framework of Life-Environment Relations. Academic Press. Koop-Monteiro Y., Stoddart, M. & Tindall D. (2023) Animals and climate change: A visual and discourse network analysis of Instagram posts, Environmental Sociology, 9:4, 409- 426, DOI: 10.1080/23251042.2023.2216371 Kurten, S., Vanherle, R., Beullens, K., Gebhardt, W., van den Putte, B. & Hendriks, H. (2022). Like to drink: Dynamics of liking alcohol posts and effects on alcohol use, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 129, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107145 Prell C.L. (2012). Social Network Analysis: History, Theory and Methodology. Schaefer, D., Khuu, T., Rambaran, J.A., Rivas-Drake, D. & Umaña-Taylor, A.J. (2022). How do youth choose activities? Assessing the relative importance of the micro-selection mechanisms behind adolescent extracurricular activity participation, Social Networks, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2021.12.008 Scott, J. (2013). Social Network Analysis. London: SAGE Publications, third edition.