Kinds of network

Directed Network networks in which the tie has

direction

Undirected Network networks in which the tie has

no direction

Levels of analysis
A. Micro level
At the micro-level, social network research typically begins with an individual
1. Dyadic level From Greek do, "two"
- consists of a pair of actors and the (possible)
tie(s) between them.

The pair of individuals in a dyad can be linked via romantic

interest, family relation, interests, work, partners in crime, and
so on.
Dyad means two things of similar kind or nature or group and
dyadic communication means the inter-relationship between the
two. In practice, this relationship refers to dialogic relations or
face-to-face verbal communication between two people
involving their mutual ideas, thought, behaviour, ideals, liking,
disliking, and the queries and answers concerning life and living
in nature.

Three dyadic classes:

null dyads have no arcs
asymmetric dyad has an arc between the two nodes going in one
direction or the other, but not both.
mutual dyads have two arcs between the nodes, one going in one
direction, and the other going in the opposite direction.

The smallest social structure in which an individual can be embedded is a

dyad (that is, a pair of actors). For binary ties (present or absent), there are
two possibilities for each pair in the population - either they have a tie, or they
don't. We can characterize the whole population in terms of the prevalence of
these dyadic "structures." This is what the density measure does.
If we are considering a directed relation (A might like B, but B might not like
A), there are three kinds of dyads (no tie, one likes the other but not vice
versa, or both like the other). The extent to which a population is
characterized by "reciprocated" ties (those where each directs a tie to the
other) may tell us about the degree of cohesion, trust, and social capital that is
present.

2. Triadic level - a subset of three actors and the (possible) tie(s) among them.
Takes into account all the different combinations of three individuals and
examines the interactions between the three individuals

Two Types:
a) Mediator: Helps the conflicting parties to get to a mutually agreeable solution, by
"depriv[ing] claims of their affective qualities because [the mediator] neutrally formulates
and presents these claims to the two parties involved." (p.147)
Mediators can be those who are equally non interested, and those who are equally
interested in both.
b) Arbitrator: Imposes a decision through the authority granted by the parties (or the
state).

3. Actor level -The smallest unit of analysis in a social network is an individual in

their social setting, i.e., an "actor" or "ego

B. Meso level
In general, meso-level theories begin with a population size that falls between the
micro- and macro-levels
1. Organizations - Formal organizations are social groups that distribute tasks for a
collective goal.
Network research on organizations may focus on either intra-organizational or inter-organizational
ties in terms of formal or informal relationships. Intra-organizational networks themselves often
contain multiple levels of analysis, especially in larger organizations with multiple branches,
franchises or semi-autonomous departments. In these cases, research is often conducted at a
workgroup level and organization level, focusing on the interplay between the two structures

2. Randomly distributed networks - Exponential random graph models of social

networks became state-of-the-art methods of social network analysis in the
1980s.
Exponential random graph models of social networks became state-of-the-art methods of social
network analysis in the 1980s. This framework has the capacity to represent social-structural effects
commonly observed in many human social networks, including general degree-based structural
effects commonly observed in many human social networks as well as reciprocity and transitivity,
and at the node-level, homophilyand attribute-based activity and popularity effects, as derived from
explicit hypotheses aboutdependencies among network ties. Parameters are given in terms of the
prevalence of smallsubgraph configurations in the network and can be interpreted as describing the
combinations of local social processes from which a given network emerges. These probability
models for networks on a given set of actors allow generalization beyond the restrictive dyadic

independence assumption of micro-networks, allowing models to be built from theoretical structural

foundations of social behavior

3. Scale-free networks -A scale-free network is a network whose degree

distribution follows a power law, at least asymptotically.
A scale-free network is anetwork whose degree distribution follows a power law, at
least asymptotically. In network theory a scale-free ideal network is a random network with
a degree distribution that unravels the size distribution of social groups.[42] Specific characteristics
of scale-free networks vary with the theories and analytical tools used to create them, however,
in general, scale-free networks have some common characteristics. One notable characteristic in
a scale-free network is the relative commonness of vertices with a degree that greatly exceeds
the average. The highest-degree nodes are often called "hubs", and may serve specific
purposes in their networks, although this depends greatly on the social context. Another general
characteristic of scale-free networks is the clustering coefficient distribution, which decreases as
the node degree increases. This distribution also follows a power law.[43]The Barabsi model of
network evolution shown above is an example of a scale-free network.

C. Macro level
Rather than tracing interpersonal interactions, macro-level analyses generally trace the
outcomes of interactions, such as economic or other resource transfer interactions over
a large population.
1. Large-scale networks - Large-scale network is a term somewhat synonymous
with "macro-level" as used, primarily, in social and behavioral sciences,
in economics..
2. Complex networks -Most larger social networks display features of social
complexity, which involves substantial non-trivial features of network topology,
with patterns of complex connections between elements that are neither purely
regular nor purely random as do biological, and technological networks.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking

Advantages

Worldwide Connectivity
2. Commonality of Interest
1.

3. Real-Time Information Sharing

4. Free Advertising
5. Increased News Cycle Speed
Disadvantages
1. Face to Face Connections are Endangered
2. Cyber bullying and Crimes Against Children
3. Risks of Fraud or Identity Theft
4. Time Waster
5. Corporate Invasion of Privacy