"Introduction to Network AnalysisThis course introduces students to the skills and concepts at the core of a dynamic and rapidly developing interdisciplinary field. Network analytic tools focus on the relationships between nodes (e.g., individuals, groups, organizations, countries, etc.). We analyze these relationships to uncover or predict a variety of important factors (e.g., the potential or importance of various actors, organizational vulnerabilities, potential subgroups, the need for redundancy, social and economic ties, growth within a network, …). Although the security field has received the greatest amount of recent attention (covert or terrorist networks), these tools can offer valuable insight into a variety of disciplines. The combination of – often stunning – visual analytic techniques with more quantitative measures accounts for much of the increasing worldwide popularity of this field.Course Objectives



At the end of the semester, students will be able to:

Explain and apply a number of the concepts that underpin network analysis

Apply concepts such as centrality, brokerage, equivalence and diffusion to network data

Critically evaluate structures and substructures within a network

Perform a variety of approaches to clustering and cohesion to networks

Analyze networks using a variety of software packages

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