Abstract

A network can be defined as a set of linked nodes, where nodes rep-resent actors and links represent the relationships between actors. Net-works can be simple, such as a family structure, or very complex, such as the World Wide Web. Researchers have long explored network struc-tures; physicists, sociologists, statisticians and mathematicians have all contributed to the large body of literature that exists on the many facets of network analysis. Any network, simple or complex, that fosters social connections is a social network. As the web is a social network, how can we better understand the social analytic framework that influences current information retrieval and ranking techniques? To do so, we must examine the theoretical and methodological tradition of social network analysis. This paper attempts to provide this informative context. In section 1, we are introduced to the network analytic paradigm. In section 2, we ex-amine theoretical perspectives on social network analysis, exploring social power and social capital in detail. In section 3, we survey methodology in social network analysis, with special attention paid to the network epi-demiology. In section 4, we examine our current web analytic paradigm in the context of social network analysis. In section 5, conclusions and 1 further directions are presented. 1

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