An Overview of Social Network Analysis

Social network analysis refers both to a view that social relations provide crucial insight to human behavior and to a set of analytic tools that enable the study of these social relations. Both practitioners and theorists interested in crime can gain important knowledge from a focus on social networks, as the growing literature in criminology demonstrates. This article provides an introduction for scholars interested in becoming better versed in the concepts of basic social network concepts and techniques, as well as a discussion about the conditions under which this form of analysis may be particularly useful.