Regular Courses

Prof. Christoph Stadtfeld

Introduction to Social Networks: Theory, Methods and Applications (Lecture, Spring Semester)

Short description

Humans are interconnected through various social relations. When aggregated, we speak of social networks. This course discusses how social networks are structured, how they change over time and how they affect the individuals that they connect. It integrates social theory with practical knowledge of cutting-edge statistical methods and applications from a number of scientific disciplines.

Objective

The aim is to enable students to contribute to social networks research and to be discriminating consumers of modern literature on social networks. Students will acquire a thorough understanding of social networks theory (1), practical skills in cutting-edge statistical methods (2) and their applications in a number of scientific fields (3).
In particular, at the end of the course students will

• Know the fundamental theories in social networks research (1)
• Understand core concepts of social networks and their relevance in different contexts (1, 3)
• Be able to describe and visualize networks data in the R environment (2)
• Understand differences regarding analysis and collection of network data and other type of survey data (2)
• Know state-of-the-art inferential statistical methods and how they are used in R (2)
• Be familiar with the core citations and empirical studies in social networks research (2, 3)
• Know how network methods can be employed in a variety of scientific disciplines (3)

Recent Debates in Social Networks Research (Seminar, Fall Semester)

Short description

Social Networks research is a highly interdisciplinary fields. For example, scholars in Sociology, Psychology, Political Sciences, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics and Statistics contribute to the development of theories and methods. This course aims at understanding, comparing and structuring recent debates in the field of Social Networks.

Objective

Social Networks research is a highly interdisciplinary fields. At the end of this seminar, students will understand and be able to compare different subject-specific approaches to social networks research (e.g., from Sociology, Psychology, Political Sciences, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics and Statistics). They will be familiar with recent publications in the field of Social Networks and be able to critically participate in a number of recent debates. Amongst others, these debates touch upon the co-evolution of selection and influence mechanisms, appropriateness of statistical models, generic mechanisms and features of social networks, models for the analysis of dynamic networks.

Prof. Ulrik Brandes

Sports Networks (Lecture, Spring Semester)

Short description

We study applications of network science methods in the context of sports research. Although the focal sport is football (soccer), topics are selected for diversity in research questions and techniques and include analytics, careers, markets, and tourism. Final presentations will be held in a mini-conference just before the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Objective

Network science as a paradigm is entering domains from engineering to the humantities but appropriate application is tricky. Sports appears to be a natural such domain with its high degree of regulation and interactivity seemingly lending itself to quantification and network representations. 
We will study examples from the recent literature to gain an understanding of the possibilities and pitfalls of applying network methods to social phenomena and the role of datafication.
Students will present and defend their assessment in a mini-conference at the end of the semester. Some topics may involve replication of an analysis.