WORKSHOP: Support for Political Networks Conference and Training Workshops

网络分析关注个体之间产生聚合结果的联系，而不仅仅关注个体或聚合体的特征。重点是针对复杂的，关键的，但很少理解的过程之间的广泛发展的个人和机构层面的理解，一直是最常见的政治分析。这是一个特别有前途的时期，为网络研究的发展，在政治和政策。广泛的“大”数据集、扩展的计算能力和新开发的分析技术减少了过去对政治网络进行认真研究的许多障碍。因此，政治网络的研究正处于一个重要的转折点，支持新成立的跨学科组织和培训工作，目前正在进行中。因此，网络研究在政治研究的几乎每个领域都获得了支持者和实践者-政治制度，比较政治学，政治行为，国际关系，公共政策，政党和选举，公众舆论，利益集团，社会运动和政治传播。 该项目继续建立和发展政治网络分析领域。这些资源致力于支持研究生，博士后研究员和资金不足的助理教授，扩大多样性的努力，延长辅导和网络的努力，并鼓励开发和传播新的方法和理论适合子领域的具体需求带来了研究政治网络的兴趣。该项目利用培训和辅导方面的优势，推动政治网络领域的发展，并在被视为“新学科”的领域促进跨学科联系。智力优势：该项目是跨学科的，数据密集型的，协作的。其目的是通过以下方式促进对政治网络的研究和网络分析的使用：1）加强在这一领域工作的学者之间的沟通，2）支持开发和传播新方法和数据源的过程，3）支持在政治网络研究中适当应用概念和分析技术的传播过程，四是加快政治网络分析培训。培训是主要组成部分，这有助于跨学科能力建设。 更广泛的影响：除了培训和学习的参与者，目标是参与者把他们学到的东西，并把它移动到他们的研究生和本科教学，并有助于定量社会科学计划在他们的家机构。网络科学家可以在开发网络概念和分析的本科课程中发挥重要作用，这将是对定量社会科学项目的流行和有用的贡献。还通过与会者提供的课堂材料和录音讲座进行广泛传播。2012年以后的其他会议将予以记录和张贴。培训和会议是跨学科的设计，并导致了跨学科的深入和广泛的参与。结合相关因素的能力已被证明可以提高对公众舆论和投票行为、战争和国际冲突以及政策制定和实施的理解，这一建议加速了社会科学这些和其他领域的改进。

Network analysis focuses on the connections among individuals that produce aggregate outcomes, rather than focusing solely on the characteristics of either the individuals or the aggregates. The focus is directed toward the complex, critical, yet little understood processes lying between extensively developed individual and institutional level understandings that have been most common in political analysis. This is a particularly promising period for the development of network studies in politics and policy. Extensive "big" data sets, expanded computational capabilities, and newly-developed analytic techniques have reduced many of the past obstacles to the serious study of political networks. Hence the study of political networks is at an important juncture, supported by newly established interdisciplinary organizations and training efforts that are currently underway. As a consequence, network studies have gained supporters and practitioners in virtually every area of political study - political institutions, comparative politics, political behavior, international relations, public policy, parties and elections, public opinion, interest groups, social movements, and political communication. The project continues to build and develop the field of political network analysis. The resources are dedicated to support graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and under-funded assistant professors, expand diversity efforts, extend mentoring and networking efforts, and encourage the development and dissemination of new methods and theories appropriate for the specific needs of subfields brought together by an interest in studying political networks. The project leverages strengths in training and mentoring to advance the field of political networks and foster interdisciplinary ties in what has been deemed "a new discipline." Intellectual Merit: The project is interdisciplinary, data-intensive, and collaborative. The aims are to promote the study of political networks and the use of network analysis by: 1) enhancing communication between scholars who work in this area, 2) supporting the process of developing and disseminating new methods and data sources, 3) supporting the process of diffusion about the appropriate application of conceptual and analytic techniques in political networks research, and 4) accelerating training in political network analysis. Training is the primary component and this contributes to interdisciplinary capacity building. Broader Impacts: Beyond training and learning for participants, the goal is that participants take what they learn and move it into their graduate and undergraduate teaching and contribute to quantitative social science programs at their home institutions. Network scientists can play a large role in developing undergraduate courses on network concepts and analysis which would be popular and useful contributions to quantitative social science programs. Broad dissemination is also achieved through conference participants providing classroom materials and recorded lectures. Additional sessions from 2012 onward will be recorded and posted. The training and conference is interdisciplinary by design and has resulted in deep and extensive engagement across disciplines. The ability to incorporate relational factors has been demonstrated to improve the understanding of public opinion and voting behavior, war and international conflicts, and policy development and implementation, and this proposal accelerates the improvements in these and other areas of social sciences.