Network Perspectives

This chapter discusses theoretical foundations of network analysis by outlining different ways in which networks can be used. In the broadest of these ways, often denoted the network approach, the researcher views a substantive phenomenon through the lens of networks. In this case, networks mainly function to organize observations and to suggest theoretical ideas. The network approach can subsequently be specified in at least two ways. First, by constructing psychometric network models, which formulate a probability distribution for a set of observations, typically by representing variables as nodes and conditional associations between these variables as edges. Second, by constructing network theories, which offer putative explanations of empirical phenomena. Thus, where network theories are tied to a particular empirical domain, network models are generic, i.e., independent of any particular domain. Finally, the chapter discusses ways in which the relation between network approaches, network theories, and network models can be understood.