Course Overview
This is an introductory online Spring School on Social Network Analysis (SNA) organised by the Mitchell Centre for Social Network Analysis – a leading cross-disciplinary research group in the development and application of social network analysis techniques, located in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester.
This Spring School will cover the core concepts, methods and data analysis techniques of SNA. It will be hands on and largely based around the use of the UCINET software package, giving participants experience in analysing real social network data.
No prior knowledge of social network analysis or quantitative methods are required.
Registration Deadline
The registration deadline for this course has been extended to 26 February. Please ensure you purchase your place before this date.
Course Aims
- Introduce the assumptions and main ideas underlying Social Network Analysis
- Explain how to describe and visualise networks using specialist software (UCINET)
- Explain and apply key concepts of Social Network Analysis (e.g. centrality, cohesion, brokerage)
- Provide hands-on training to use software to investigate social network structure.
Your Course Leads
Format and Outline
The Spring School comprises the following sessions, spread over 3 weeks (3-17 March 2025) to maximise learning opportunities:
- Session 1: Introduction, basics and visualization (Mon 3rd March)
- Session 2: Multivariate and whole network measures (Weds 5th March)
- Session 3: Centrality and research objectives (Fri 7th March)
- Session 4: Ego networks (Mon 10th March)
- Session 5: Community and two-mode networks (Weds 12th March)
- Session 6: Blockmodeling and hypothesis testing (Fri 14th March)
- Session 7: Specific topic area (Mon 17th March)
Each of the first six sessions (March 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14) consists of:
- Asynchronous part: includes videos and reading, providing detailed explanations into concepts, measures and how to apply these via UCINET
- Synchronous part: offers the opportunity for online discussion and Q&As about that topic with social network experts from the Mitchell Centre.
The synchronous parts of the sessions take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays of the first two weeks (March 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14) from 12.50 to 15.10 UTC (20-minute break 13.50 to 14.10). This provides participants with sufficient time to engage with the respective asynchronous materials prior to attending the timetabled synchronous session.
For the last session (Monday 17th March), interested participants will be divided into groups based on their specific area of research and given the opportunity to discuss their research with a relevant expert of the Mitchell Centre in a small-group context.
Background Reading
Borgatti S., Everett M.G., Johnson J. and Agneessens, F. 2024. Analyzing Social Networks (3rd Ed.). London: Sage.
Crossley, N., Bellotti, E., Edwards, G., Everett, M.G., Koskinen, J. and Tranmer, M. 2015. Social Network Analysis for Ego-Nets, London, Sage.
Fees
- Full Fee: £470
- Reduced fee: £350
In an effort to keep fees straightforward yet fair, we have adopted a dual fee structure based on the World Bank’s classification of economies into three categories (A,B,C) as adopted by International Sociological Association (ISA).
All attendees from A economies who are employed in academic or commercial organisations should pay the full fee. Students (including PhDs), those who are unemployed or employed in charities or third sector organisations, and all those attending from B/C economies, should pay the reduced fee.
For more information about this classification see here and contact us if you have any questions.
Book Your Place
Please purchase via our online store below before 26 February (payment by card only). If you any issues while purchasing, please get in touch with methods@manchester.ac.uk.
Any questions, please do not hesitate to contact at methods@manchester.ac.uk
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