Network analysis and health inequalities: A methodological introduction

Abstract

"Networks" seem to be omnipresent in modern societies (e.g., networking, online social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, or even criminal and terrorist networks), but the term and its meaning in everyday life often remain amorphous. In order to be able to work with the concept in a scientifically adequate way, this chapter introduces the term "social network," different forms of network analysis, and survey and data evaluation strategies. What follows is a short overview of different methods and important literature references are given, which can be referred to in more detail, if necessary.