Methodological Approach to Study Relationships in Network: Qualitative Social Network Analysis
Research Article
Acknowledgments
The article was prepared within the framework of the HSE University Basic Research Program
How to Cite
Kim A.V. Methodological Approach to Study Relationships in Network: Qualitative Social Network Analysis. Interaction. Interview. Interpretation. 2023. Vol. 15. No. 3. P. 11-30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/inter.2023.15.3.1 (in Russ.).
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to substantiate qualitative network analysis as a separate methodological approach to the study of relationships in the network. In this paper, I define the theoretical framework of the network approach as a whole, then I give a theoretical basis for qualitative network analysis. I designate theoretical concepts related to the study of the deep meanings of relationships in the network. The place of qualitative network analysis in network approaches is determined, among which two approaches to the division of methodologies are distinguished: the division into quantitative and qualitative methods and the division into quantitative, ego-network and qualitative network analysis. Next, I propose a systematization of network approaches at different levels, where network analysis of structures at the macro level, network analysis of subgroups at the meso level and ego-network analysis are distinguished, which can be both in the design of quantitative and qualitative research. The definition of qualitative network analysis is given, the main tasks of this methodology and examples of empirical research are proposed.
Keywords:
qualitative social network analysis, relationships, network, social network research, methodological approaches
References
Burt R.S. (1997) A Note on Social Capital and Network Content. Social Networks. Vol. 19. No. 4. P. 355–373. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-8733(97)00003-8
Coleman J.S. (1998) Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 94. P. 95–120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/228943
Crossley N. (2010) The Social World of the Network. Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Elements in Social Network Analysis. Sociologica. No.1. P. 1–34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2383/32049
DeJordy R., Halgin D. (2008) Introduction to Ego Network Analysis. Boston: Boston College and the Winston Center for Leadership & Ethics.
Deviatko I.F. (1998) Metody sosiologicheskogo issledovania [Methods of Sociological Research]. Ekaterinburg: Isdatelstvo Uralskogo universiteta. (In Russ.)
Diaz-Bone R. (2008) Gibt es Eine Qualitative Netzwerkanalyse?. Does Qualitative Network Analysis Exist? No. 4. P. 311–343.
Donati P. (2011) Relational Sociology: A New Paradigm for the Social Sciences. New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203860281
Elias N. What is Sociology. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978.
Emirbayer M., Goodwin J. (1994) Network Analysis, Culture, and the Problem of Agency. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 99. No. 6. P. 1411–1454. DOI: 10.1086/230450
Erikson E. (2013) Formalist and Relationalist Theory in Social Network Analysis. Sociological Theory. Vol. 31. No. 3. P. 219–242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0735275113501998
Fine G.A., Kleinman S. (1983) Network and Meaning: An Interactionist Approach to Structure. Symbolic Interaction. Vol. 6. No. 1. P. 97–110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/si.1983.6.1.97
Freeman L. (2004) The Development of Social Network Analysis: A Study in the Sociology of Science. Vancouver: Empirical Press. P. 159–167.
Fuhse J. (2021) Social Networks of Meaning and Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190275433.001.0001
Fuhse J., Mützel S. (2011) Tackling Connections, Structure, and Meaning in Networks: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Sociological Network Research. Quality & Quantity. Vol. 45. No. 5. P. 1067–1089. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-011-9492-3
Granovetter M. (1973) The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 78. No. 6. P. 1360–1380. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/225469
Granovetter M. (1985) Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 91. No. 3. P. 481–510. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/228311
Giddens A. (1984) Elements of the Theory of Structuration. London, New York: Routledge.
Hollstein B. (2011) Qualitative Approached. In: The SAGE Handbook of Social Network Analysis. Los Angeles: SAGE. P. 404–416. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446294413.n27
Hollstein B., Straus F. (2007) Qualitative Netzwerkanalyse: Konzepte, Methoden, Anwendungen. Wiesbaden: Springer-Verlag.
Kim A.V. (2021) Kachestvenniy setevoi analis v strategii smeshivania metodov v sotsialnih naukah: sistematichesky obzor literatury [Qualitative Network Analysis in the Strategy of Mixing Methods in Social Science: A Systematic Literature Review]. Sosiologia: metodologia, metody, matematicheskoe modelirovanie [Sociology: Methodology, Methods, Mathematical Modeling]. Vol. 2 No. 53. P. 83–116. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/4m.2021.53.3
Kim A., Maltseva D. (2023) Qualitative Social Network Analysis: Studying the Field Through the Bibliographic Approach. Quality and Quantity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11135-023-01651-6
Maltseva D.V. (2014) Relatsionnaya sosiologia: novi etap v razvitii analyza sosialnyh setei ili samostoyatelnoe napravlenie? [Relational Sociology: New Era in the Analysis on Social Networks, or an Independent Trend?]. Monitoring obshestvennogo mnenia: Ekonomicheskie i sosialnie peremeny [Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes]. No. 4. P. 3–14. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2014.4.01
Maltseva D.V. (2018) Setevoi podhod kak fenomen sosiologicheskoy teorii [Network Approach as Phenomenon in Sociological Theory]. Sosiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 4. P. 3–14. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.7868/S0132162518040013
Mead G.H., Morris C.W. (1967) Mind, Self & Society from the Stand-Point of a Social Behaviorist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/Z.184.19MEA
Mikhailova O.R. (2022) Vozmozhnosty primenenia ego-setevogo analysa dlya izuchenia rasprostranenya moralnoy panili (na primere ozhirenia) [The Perspectives of Ego-network Analysis for Investigating Dissemination of Moral Panic (the Case of Obesity)]. Dis. kand. nauk. Moscow: NIU VShE (In Russ.)
Mische A. (2008) Culture, Networks, and Interaction in Social Movement Publics. Simposio de Berlín. Marzo. Vol. 20. P. 1–6.
Portes A. (2000) The Two Meanings of Social Capital. Sociological Forum. Vol. 15. No. 1. P. 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007537902813
Portes A. (1998) Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology. Annual Review of Sociology. Vol. 24. No. 1. P. 1–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.1
Sommer E., Gamper M. (2020) Beyond Structural Determinism: Advantages and Challenges of Qualitative Social Network Analysis for Studying Social Capital of Migrants. Global Networks. Vol. 21. No. 3. P. 608–625. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12302
Warner W.L. (1941) Social Anthropology and the Modern Community. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 46. No. 6. P. 785–796. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/218793
Wasserman S., Faust K. (1994) Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wellman B. (2005) Community: from Neighborhood to Network. Communications of the ACM. Vol. 48. No. 10. P. 53–55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1089107.1089137
Wellman B. (2018) The Network Community: An Introduction. In: Networks in the Global Vollage. New York: Routledge. P. 1–47.DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429498718
White H.C. (2008) Identity and Control: How Social Formations Emerge. Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Coleman J.S. (1998) Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 94. P. 95–120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/228943
Crossley N. (2010) The Social World of the Network. Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Elements in Social Network Analysis. Sociologica. No.1. P. 1–34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2383/32049
DeJordy R., Halgin D. (2008) Introduction to Ego Network Analysis. Boston: Boston College and the Winston Center for Leadership & Ethics.
Deviatko I.F. (1998) Metody sosiologicheskogo issledovania [Methods of Sociological Research]. Ekaterinburg: Isdatelstvo Uralskogo universiteta. (In Russ.)
Diaz-Bone R. (2008) Gibt es Eine Qualitative Netzwerkanalyse?. Does Qualitative Network Analysis Exist? No. 4. P. 311–343.
Donati P. (2011) Relational Sociology: A New Paradigm for the Social Sciences. New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203860281
Elias N. What is Sociology. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978.
Emirbayer M., Goodwin J. (1994) Network Analysis, Culture, and the Problem of Agency. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 99. No. 6. P. 1411–1454. DOI: 10.1086/230450
Erikson E. (2013) Formalist and Relationalist Theory in Social Network Analysis. Sociological Theory. Vol. 31. No. 3. P. 219–242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0735275113501998
Fine G.A., Kleinman S. (1983) Network and Meaning: An Interactionist Approach to Structure. Symbolic Interaction. Vol. 6. No. 1. P. 97–110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/si.1983.6.1.97
Freeman L. (2004) The Development of Social Network Analysis: A Study in the Sociology of Science. Vancouver: Empirical Press. P. 159–167.
Fuhse J. (2021) Social Networks of Meaning and Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190275433.001.0001
Fuhse J., Mützel S. (2011) Tackling Connections, Structure, and Meaning in Networks: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Sociological Network Research. Quality & Quantity. Vol. 45. No. 5. P. 1067–1089. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-011-9492-3
Granovetter M. (1973) The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 78. No. 6. P. 1360–1380. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/225469
Granovetter M. (1985) Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 91. No. 3. P. 481–510. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/228311
Giddens A. (1984) Elements of the Theory of Structuration. London, New York: Routledge.
Hollstein B. (2011) Qualitative Approached. In: The SAGE Handbook of Social Network Analysis. Los Angeles: SAGE. P. 404–416. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446294413.n27
Hollstein B., Straus F. (2007) Qualitative Netzwerkanalyse: Konzepte, Methoden, Anwendungen. Wiesbaden: Springer-Verlag.
Kim A.V. (2021) Kachestvenniy setevoi analis v strategii smeshivania metodov v sotsialnih naukah: sistematichesky obzor literatury [Qualitative Network Analysis in the Strategy of Mixing Methods in Social Science: A Systematic Literature Review]. Sosiologia: metodologia, metody, matematicheskoe modelirovanie [Sociology: Methodology, Methods, Mathematical Modeling]. Vol. 2 No. 53. P. 83–116. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/4m.2021.53.3
Kim A., Maltseva D. (2023) Qualitative Social Network Analysis: Studying the Field Through the Bibliographic Approach. Quality and Quantity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11135-023-01651-6
Maltseva D.V. (2014) Relatsionnaya sosiologia: novi etap v razvitii analyza sosialnyh setei ili samostoyatelnoe napravlenie? [Relational Sociology: New Era in the Analysis on Social Networks, or an Independent Trend?]. Monitoring obshestvennogo mnenia: Ekonomicheskie i sosialnie peremeny [Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes]. No. 4. P. 3–14. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2014.4.01
Maltseva D.V. (2018) Setevoi podhod kak fenomen sosiologicheskoy teorii [Network Approach as Phenomenon in Sociological Theory]. Sosiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 4. P. 3–14. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.7868/S0132162518040013
Mead G.H., Morris C.W. (1967) Mind, Self & Society from the Stand-Point of a Social Behaviorist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/Z.184.19MEA
Mikhailova O.R. (2022) Vozmozhnosty primenenia ego-setevogo analysa dlya izuchenia rasprostranenya moralnoy panili (na primere ozhirenia) [The Perspectives of Ego-network Analysis for Investigating Dissemination of Moral Panic (the Case of Obesity)]. Dis. kand. nauk. Moscow: NIU VShE (In Russ.)
Mische A. (2008) Culture, Networks, and Interaction in Social Movement Publics. Simposio de Berlín. Marzo. Vol. 20. P. 1–6.
Portes A. (2000) The Two Meanings of Social Capital. Sociological Forum. Vol. 15. No. 1. P. 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007537902813
Portes A. (1998) Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology. Annual Review of Sociology. Vol. 24. No. 1. P. 1–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.1
Sommer E., Gamper M. (2020) Beyond Structural Determinism: Advantages and Challenges of Qualitative Social Network Analysis for Studying Social Capital of Migrants. Global Networks. Vol. 21. No. 3. P. 608–625. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12302
Warner W.L. (1941) Social Anthropology and the Modern Community. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 46. No. 6. P. 785–796. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/218793
Wasserman S., Faust K. (1994) Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wellman B. (2005) Community: from Neighborhood to Network. Communications of the ACM. Vol. 48. No. 10. P. 53–55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1089107.1089137
Wellman B. (2018) The Network Community: An Introduction. In: Networks in the Global Vollage. New York: Routledge. P. 1–47.DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429498718
White H.C. (2008) Identity and Control: How Social Formations Emerge. Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Article
Received: 13.06.2023
Accepted: 27.09.2023
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Kim, A. V. (2023). Methodological Approach to Study Relationships in Network: Qualitative Social Network Analysis. Interaction. Interview. Interpretation, 15(3), 11-30. https://doi.org/10.19181/inter.2023.15.3.1
Section
Theoretical discourses and debates
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
