Introduction to Social Networks Coursework Writing Assignment

Introduction to Social Networks
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Introduction to Social Networks
Question 7
Based on the readings and lectures from the preceding weeks, what two seemingly paradoxical properties characterize a small world network?
Cliques and near-cliques characterize the Small-World Network. There are sub-networks with connections between almost any two nodes within them. The second paradoxical property of a Small-World Network is high clustering coefficient. In other words, most pairs of the nodes are often connected with at least one short path (Travers, & Milgram, 1977).
Question 8
Do you think the network of Wikipedia pages connected by hyperlinks possesses these two properties of small world networks? Explain your answer in a few sentences.
Yes. The Network of Wikipedia pages connected by hyperlinks possesses similar properties of small world networks. There is always connection and similarity between different Wikipedia Pages. Regardless the content of the Wikipedia page, there is some connection with at least one hyperlink.
Question 9
Based on Granovetter’s ideas about social structure and strength of ties, which of the alters is most likely to be connected to ego by a week tie? Explain your rationale in a short paragraph.
Based on Granovetter's ideas, F is most likely to be connected to ego by a weak tie. This is because it has limited cliques leading to restricted diffusion of information. However, other alters are strongly intertwined hence strong ties. The strength of dyadic ties often relies on the length and degree of overlaps of different networks.
Question 10
A researcher is designing a survey to collect ego network data from respondents. To measure tie strength, the researcher includes the following question: "How often do you see this person?" And measures responses on an ordered five-category scale, ranging from "rarely" to more than once a week." Based on what we read by Marsden and Granovetter, is this a good measure of tie strength? Why or why not? Be specific and make sure to incorporate Granovetter's three indicators of tie strength and Marsden's findings in your answer.
Yes. This is a good measure of tie strength. The question, “How often do you see this person?” is a measure of frequency. The responses like rarely and more than once a week further show the frequency as an indicator of tie strength. According to Marsden and Granovetter, the frequency and duration of contact help to measure the strength of ties. Notably, strong ties are assumed to be more frequent ones (Marsden, & Campbell, 1984).
Question 11...