Social Network Analysis Study Group (SNAG)

Sociologists pioneered the study of social networks as far back as the 1930s, and contributed key concepts and analytical tools to the field, now shared among disciplines as diverse as economics, bio-medicine, computer science and physics. SNA re-conceives communities as structures of relationships, and recognizes that the opportunities and constraints of actors depend on their own ties as well as on the way other actors are related. By so doing, it can provide insights into the distribution of power and status, the access to resources and support, the influence of cultural and social factors on individual behaviour, the formation of social norms, the diffusion of information and innovation.