HSE Summer School - 2013: "Social Network Analysis: Internet Research"

Main link: http://slon.hse.ru/en/announcements/77382038.html
HSE Summer School - 2013: "Social Network Analysis: Internet Research"

St. Petersburg - August, 15-22, 2013

We invite advanced students and young researchers interested in researching online communities through social network analysis to participate in the international summer course, “Social Network Analysis: Internet Research”. The course is organized by the Department of Sociology, the Laboratory for Internet Studies (LINIS), and the Sociology of Education and Science Laboratory (SESL) of the National Research University - Higher School of Economics. English will serve as the course’s working language. The summer school will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia from August 15 to the 22, 2013.

This year will address how online communities can be empirically examined using social network analysis and network science. Connections between theory and application will be illustrated in conjunction with contemporary examples from internet-based social networks. The course will focus on research design, online data collection, processing, analysis, and visualization. The course will also review and compare the available software packages that are widely used to analyze online social networks, paying close attention to issues such as performance, user interface, and features.

The course has four components:

Lectures that will provide background on the field and review both theory and methods;
Hands-on computer laboratory sessions operating primarily within the R and Python environments. These labs will offer direct, technical skills in collecting, analyzing, and visualizing “big data” from internet sources;
Seminars that will focus on discussing research articles;
Student project presentations that include a discussion of the research. Participants will receive feedback from both their peers and the instructors.

Lectures, seminars and computer labs will be taught by: Ilan Talmud (University of Haifa), Anatoliy Gruzd (Dalhousie University), Benjamin Lind (HSE Moscow), Alexander Hanna (U Wisconsin), Olessia Koltsova (HSE SPb), Daniel Alexandrov (HSE SPb).

We encourage students and young researchers with backgrounds in social science (e.g., sociology, anthropology, political science, economics), computer science, and informatics to apply. We welcome both Russian and international applicants.

Requirements for participation:

English fluency.
Computer literacy and knowledge of online social networks.
An elementary understanding of social network analysis.
Applicants with related research experience will receive preference.

There is no registration fee. Attendance is limited to 25 participants. Participants who successfully complete all course requirements and pass a cumulative exam will be eligible to receive five ECTS.

Accommodation: 16 students may get hostel-type accommodation paid by the School (to be distributed on first come, first served basis). Out-of-country participants should get entry visa. Invitations for visa will be provided by the School. Contact e-mail: sna.school2013@gmail.com.

In order to apply please complete the online application form along with brief description of your research project (200-400 words). Deadline for application: May 15, 2013. Final decisions: May 31, 2013.

Now Accepting Applications!