Social Network Analysis

Objectives

The structure and organization of real-world systems — physical, ecological, and social — are often better represented through the set relationships between their building. Many dynamical problems in social systems – such as disease spreading, opinion formation, information cascades, and behavior adoption – can only be truly understood after considering the underlying structure of relationships between its agents/actors. In that sense, Network Science presents powerful methodologies to abstract and think about network problems and extract meaningful and actionable information for various applications.

In the Social Network Analysis curricular unit, we will focus on the vast accumulated knowledge that resulted from applying Network Science methods to study problems in Social Sciences and their implications for Digital Marketing. Hence, during the 7 weeks of this Curricular Unit, students will learn about the fundamentals of Network Analysis and understand how it can be used to better understand social systems, particularly how social networks shape the diffusion of influence and information.

General characterization

Code

200204

Credits

3.5

Responsible teacher

Flávio Luís Portas Pinheiro

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - Available soon

Teaching language

Portuguese. If there are Erasmus students, classes will be taught in English

Prerequisites

The curricular unit does not have technical enrollment requirements.

Classes will be taught in English, and as such students are expected to have a good comprehension and communication of English.

Bibliography

Teaching method

The curricular unit combines a mix of theoretical and practical lessons with a strong focus on active learning. During each session, students will be introduced to new concepts and methodologies, case studies, and practical examples. Active learning activities (debates, quizzes, mud cards, compare and contrast) will place students at the center of the classroom so that each takes an active role in the discussion and foster the learning process. Computer activities will take place whenever appropriate. For instance, students will build and analyze the class friendship network and thus get some hands-on experience and familiarity with the course topics.

Evaluation Elements:

EE1 - Participation in classroom activities (40%)

EE2 – Group Project (60%).

Evaluation method

To successfully finish this curricular unit, students need to score a minimum of 9.5 points. The grading is divided into two seasons. Attendance in the second is optional for students that passed the curricular unit in the first season and can be used to improve their grade.

First Season

The first grading season is dedicated to continuous evaluation, which includes the following components:

Class Activities (10%) — Active participation in class activities developed during the duration of the curricular unit.
Quizzes (30%) —Set of multiple-choice questions at the start/end of each Lecture. Quizzes will be performed on Socrative. Students can answer the quiz using their smartphones or computer laptops. Login details will be shared in Moodle during the first week of classes. Students are incentivized to debate with their colleagues during the quiz when possible. We will have three quiz sessions during the semester during weeks 2, 4, and 5.
Final Project (60%) — The final project is a group activity, with groups with a maximum of 5 elements. There are two possible tracks in the project, and groups need to choose one:
- Theoretical Track – Literature review on the topic of application of Network Analysis to Marketing. Students are expected to review and discuss relevant academic manuscripts highlighting the use of Network Analysis methods in Marketing.
- Practical Track – Using a dataset the teaching staff shares, frame the problem, devise possible solutions by applying the concepts learned, and communicate insights.

Delivery materials include a deck slide and a 15-minute video-recording presentation. The deck slide must include only the slides used during the presentation and a maximum of 3 slides for additional reporting. Video recordings will be shared on Moodle, and the participation of all group members is encouraged. Groups will be assessed by the clarity of their communication (40%), the correctness of the methods presented (30%), and the relatedness of the topic to the syllabus of the curricular unit (30%).

As part of the project, groups will have to share by the end of the 6^th week of classes a Title and Abstract (250 words) summarizing their project, along with information about the group members.

Second Season

The second grading season will take January and consists of a multiple-choice exam. The exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions and will last 45 minutes. Correct answers count 0.5 points, and incorrect answers discount 0.2 points.

Subject matter

The curricular unit is organized into three Learning Units (LU):

LU0. Introduction to Network Science

LU1. The role of network science in the diffusion of information and behavioral adoption

LU2. Application of network science to marketing

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: