ANR-Lab Seminar 'Theoretical and methodological foundations of qualitative social network analysis'

Network analysis as an analysis of structures consisting of units and connections between them can be attributed to the statistical method. Network analysis in sociology, within the framework of the structuralist approach, is aimed at studying social structures where actors and their relationships are embedded in networks, and the structure of the network influences the social interactions of actors. Deep social structures, as the subject of research in network analysis, can also be identified in qualitative methodology, if it is possible to combine the structuralist model with the interpretive model of sociological explanation. The qualitative method is able to reflect the construction of forms of relations and perceptions of their actors.

This study is devoted to the search for the theoretical roots of qualitative network analysis, as well as the methodological foundations of this approach in network research. The theoretical basis of qualitative network analysis is connected with two directions – relational sociology and the concept of social capital. The direction of relational sociology includes cultural features of social interactions in the analysis of structures. According to Bourdieu, social capital is a set of real or potential resources associated with the possession of a stable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition – in other words, with membership in a group.

The language of the seminar is English. The seminar will be held online on the Zoom platform.

If you would like to participate in the seminar, please write to the research assistant of the laboratory Nadezhda Buzina (npbuzina@hse.ru).