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15.992: Networks and Organization
Spring 2010
Tuesday 4:00p-7:00p
E51-061
Instructor: Christopher Wheat
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This seminar is intended to provide students with an intermediate
level of familiarity with methods used in the quantitative study of
social networks and the role that they play in organizing society.
The seminar is divided into to two related modules. The first module
focuses on the development of a set of tools and methods for assessing
different kinds of relational structures in networks. In these
sessions, we will focus on diving deep into the application of
particular methods, and consider how these methods have been applied
in the context of studying specific organizational phenomena. In the
second module we will explore how a variety of network methods have
been applied in the context of organizational research, with a focus
on critical assessment of these applications.
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This seminar is open to any Ph.D. student at MIT. Other students are
welcome to contact the instructor regarding participation in the
course. While this is not an introductory class in social networks,
there are no formal prerequisites. That said, some basic familiarity
with social network methods and empirical research will be helpful to
most students, as will some basic familiarity with quantitative
statistical methods and linear algebra. While not necessary,
concurrent enrollment in an graduate-level introductory social network
analysis course should provide more than a sufficient background to
students for whom this is new material.
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There are three basic requirements for this class:
- Pre-class memos (25%): Unless otherwise noted, every student is required
to submit a two-page memo critically discussing the assigned reading
for the session. Memos should discuss the major themes that unite the
readings, as well as pose questions for the seminar discussion.
- Class participation (15%): Students are expected to have read all of the
required articles for class and be prepared to discuss them
critically.
- Final Paper (60%): Each student is required to write a final paper in
which they perform an empirical analysis where social network
analysis plays a central role. Students are encouraged to view this
as an opportunity to produce a publication-quality paper.
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