Collaborative Research: Creating Dynamic Social Network Models from Sensor Data

该项目将开发一种混合方法，用于严格观察社会互动结构，并通过与传统调查和观察设计的比较来验证这种方法。它将使用可穿戴和固定的计算机设备来收集研究参与者的物理位置，语音和运动的流数据，然后将开发计算模型来从这些数据中推断社交互动的结构。因此，这套工具将允许随着时间的推移直接自动测量面对面互动的网络。在演示和验证了这种方法之后，该项目将阐明一系列经典的理论问题，这些问题在传统方法下无法进行严格的分析。社交网络动态建模的实质性进展一直受到缺乏适当的数据进行实证研究，因为学者们必须经常使用横截面或稀疏面板数据来解决动态理论。 研究人员团队包括来自计算机科学和社会学的专家，整合了这两个领域的工具，并解决了如果没有这种跨学科的透镜就难以解决的问题。例如，在时间和空间上对互动的精确测量使研究人员能够观察社会角色（如个人在日常互动中所表现的）和社会网络中的结构位置的共同演变。社交互动的流测量允许对会话进行详细分析，分析社交关系中的沟通风格如何随着时间的推移而变化，包括结构位置对互动风格的影响以及互动风格对网络位置的影响。这项研究将考察社交网络在短（数周）和长（月和/或年）时间尺度上的简单演变。利用全球定位系统和其他各种位置传感器技术，这项工作将有助于明确的网络动态空间调查，模拟物理环境和社交网络的相互作用。例如，特定位置可以用作集线器或桥接器，连接其他不同的网络组件。研究结果可能会完善对社交网络和物理位置共同进化的科学理解。 该项目将开发一套用于社会网络观察和分析的方法，生成前所未有的广度和深度的数据集，并为传统工具的比较提供独立标准，所有这些都将成为更广泛的科学界的宝贵资源。由此产生的纵向网络数据集可能会被许多其他研究人员挖掘，以深入了解社交网络动态，而在该项目下工作的研究生团队将受益于独特的跨学科培训。除了基础研究之外，基于传感器和机器学习方法在理解人类交流方面的新应用对现实社会问题具有广泛的适用性。 举一个简单的例子，对网络和物理位置的共同演变的精确理解可以提供对社区整合和解体的宏观层面过程的洞察，为社会建筑师和城市规划师提供信息。 该项目将促进计算机科学和社会科学研究人员的教学、培训和理解。

This project will develop a hybrid method for rigorously observing structures of social interaction over time, and validate this method by comparison with conventional survey and observation designs. It will use both wearable and fixed computer devices to collect streaming data on research participants' physical location, speech, and motion, and then will develop computational models to infer structures of social interaction from these data. This suite of tools will thus allow direct automated measurement of networks of face-to-face interaction over time. Having demonstrated and validated this approach, the project will illuminate a set of classic theoretical problems that have eluded rigorous analysis under conventional methods. Substantial advances in modeling the dynamics of social networks have been frustrated by the paucity of appropriate data for empirical investigation, as scholars must often address dynamic theories using cross-sectional or sparse panel data. The team of investigators includes experts from both Computer Science and Sociology, integrates tools from both fields, and addresses questions that would be intractable without this interdisciplinary lens. For example, the precise measurement of interaction in time and space allows researchers to observe the co-evolution of social roles (as performed by individuals in day-to-day interaction) and structural positions in a social network. The streaming measures of social interaction allow a detailed analysis of conversations, analyzing how styles of communication change within social relationships over time, including the effect of structural position on styles of interaction and the effect of interaction style on position in the network. The research will examine the simple evolution of social networks over short (weeks) and long (month and/or years) time scales. Using Global Positioning Systems and various other location sensor technologies, the work will contribute an explicitly spatial investigation of network dynamics, modeling the interplay of the physical environment and social networks. For example, particular locations may serve as hubs or bridges, connecting otherwise disparate network components. Results may refine scientific understanding of the co-evolution of social networks and physical locations. The project will develop a set of methods for social network observation and analysis, generate datasets of unprecedented breadth and depth, and provide an independent standard for comparison of conventional tools, all of which will be invaluable resources for the broader scientific community. The resulting longitudinal network datasets are likely to be mined for insights into social network dynamics by many other researchers, while the team of graduate students working under this project will benefit from unique interdisciplinary training. Beyond basic research, the novel application of sensor-based and machine learning methods to understanding human communication has broad applicability to real-world social problems. As a simple example, a refined understanding of the co-evolution of networks and physical locations may provide insight into macro-level processes of community integration and disintegration, informing social architects and urban planners. The project will promote teaching, training and understanding among researchers in computer science and social science.