Social Network Analysis

Introduction

This course block is designed to introduce the main concepts of Social Network Analysis (SNA) in particular, and the relevance of network science for studying the ancient past in general. Through a hands-on tutorial, we will also familiarise ourselves with Gephi - a freely available network analytical software that comes with a myriad of tools and measurements for exploring, visualising and analysing network data as network models. By completing the course, you will thus gain a basic understanding of what SNA is, what it can be used for and how you can go about conceptualising, preparing and analysing network data in Gephi.

Following an opening lecture on (S)NA, its relevance for historical and archaeological research and the Gephi software, we will:

• consider how we can extract and model data for SNA from an ancient text (in groups)
• acquaint ourselves with the case study and dataset to be exploring (provided by lecturer)
• complete a hands-on tutorial in Gephi (individually)
• and reflect on the exercises and relevance of SNA for studying the (distant) past in a plenary discussion

Applications

• Gephi - the network analytical software we will use

Resources

• Suggested reading: Ch. 6 of Graham, S., Milligan, I., & Weingart, S. (2016). Exploring Big Historical Data: The Historian’s Macroscope. London: Imperial College Press, pp. 195-234 - a digestable introduction to SNA.
• Network analysts use many technical terms, that can be both overwelming and confusing as one first approaches the methods. To keep track of the concepts, you might find glossaries, like this list of technical terms, handy.
• See also further readings, if you want to learn more.

Tasks

In preparation of the course, please

• install the latest version of Gephi on the computer you will bring to the summer school. To ensure that it works, try starting the program. From the welcome window, try opening the ‘Les Miserables.gexf’ sample and press ‘ok’ in the import report. If you see a colourful network with different sized nodes (dots) and edges (lines), all should be fine. If not, check whether you are in the ‘overview’ tab (which is where you see your model). If you are and still don’t see it, get in touch with Lena (lena.tambs@helsinki.fi) or Ellie (eleanor.bennett@helsinki.fi), so we can try to figure out what went wrong. You may also install the software or ask for support during the ‘application dropin’ slot on Wednesday 03.08.22.
• download the 4.1-3 SNA zip folder, containing the files we will use in class (a translation, a hands-on tutorial and the datasets you will need to complete it). To practice your newly acqired skills, you may prefer to access the files through GitHub Desktop (as explained in the 1.2 GitHub section).

If you have questions or run into problems, you are welcome to contact Lena (lena.tambs@helsinki.fi).

Introduction to SNA and Gephi

The SNA module will start with a lecture introducing the main concepts of SNA and showcasing some examles of how SNA has been used in archaeology and ancient history.

Extracting data for SNA from an ancient text

After we have gained an basic understanding of what SNA is and what it can be useful for, you will try extracting network data from an ancient marriage contract in groups. For this conceptual exercise, you will read P. Rylands Dem. 20 in translation (see Tambs_daa_sna_TM_135.pdf in the 4.1-3_SNA zip folder) and brainstorm ways to represent it as network graphs - consisting of dots and lines, often called nodes and edges in network jargon - using old-fashioned pen and paper.

The case study and dataset to be explored

Next, we shall scale up from the document to the archive the text is associated with, and see what characterises the social network model you will each be exploring in the hands-on tutorial.

The case study is an interpersonal network extracted from the private family archive of Pelaias, son of Eunous alias Nechoutes, who lived in the Upper Egyptian town and military camp of Pathyris. The archive consists of thirty Greek, demotic and bilingual documents written on papyri and ostraca in the late 2nd and early 1st cent. BCE.

Hands-on tutorial

For the second practical exercise, you will follow the hands-on tutorial Tambs_daa_sna_tutorial.pdf (in the 4.1-3_SNA zip folder).

The zip folder also includes three .csv-files (Tambs_daa_nodes, Tambs_daa_edges_1 and Tambs_daa_edges_2). They contain the datasets you will use to create and analyse a social network model in Gephi (as explained in the tutorial).

Plenary discussion

After we have tried using the Gephi software to visualise and analyse our network, the SNA module will be concluded by a plenary discussion on the potential and relevance of SNA for our field(s) of study.

Further readings

For a digestable introduction to SNA, see Ch. 6 of Graham, S., Milligan, I., & Weingart, S. (2016). Exploring Big Historical Data: The Historian’s Macroscope. London: Imperial College Press, pp. 195-234.

If the course peaked your interest and you consider using SNA in your own research, here are some suggestions for where to learn more:

Handbooks

Popular handbook include:

• Prell, C. (2012). Social Network Analysis. History, Theory & Methodology. Los Angeles: SAGE
• Scott, J. (2017). Social Network Analysis, 4th edition. Los Angeles: SAGE
• Wasserman, S. & Faust, K. (1994). Social Network Analysis. Methods and Applications. Structural analysis in the social sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Concepts and applications of SNA in history and archaeology

For examples of how SNA has already been used in history and archaeololgy, see (also the bibliographies of) e.g.:

• Collar, A., Coward, F., Brughmans, T., & Mills, B. J. (2015). Networks in Archaeology: Phenomena, Abstraction, Representation. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 22, pp. 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-014-9235-6
• Crabtree S.A., Borck L. (2019). Social Networks for Archaeological Research. In: C. Smith (ed), Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer: Cham, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_2631-2
• Rollinger, C. (2020). Prolegomena. Problems and Perspectives of Historical Network Research and Ancient History. Journal of Historical Network Research, 4, pp. 1-35. https://doi.org/10.25517/jhnr.v4i0.72

Gephi

If you want to continue working with Gephi, you might find the following resources useful:

• Khokhar, D. (2015). Gephi Cookbook. Over 90 Hands-On Recipes to Master the Art of Network Analysis and Visualization with Gephi. Birmingham: Packt Publishing (NB: for an older version of Gephi, but still useful)
• various tutorials available (with datasets) at https://gephi.org/users/

Note also that Gephi is just one of may network analytical software. Examples of other software are R (and various packages), UCINET (and NetDraw), Pajek, NodeXL, Visone, Nodegoat, and the Vistorian.