Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T17:43:11.376Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Detecting Heterogeneity and Inferring Latent Roles in Longitudinal Networks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2018

Benjamin W. Campbell*
Affiliation:
Doctoral Candidate, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. Email: campbell.1721@osu.edu

Abstract

Network analysis has typically examined the formation of whole networks while neglecting variation within or across networks. These approaches neglect the particular roles actors may adopt within networks. While cross-sectional approaches for inferring latent roles exist, there is a paucity of approaches for considering roles in longitudinal networks. This paper explores the conceptual dynamics of temporally observed roles while deriving and introducing a novel statistical tool, the ego-TERGM, capable of uncovering these latent dynamics. Estimated through an Expectation–Maximization algorithm, the ego-TERGM is quick and accurate in classifying roles within a broader temporal network. An application to the Kapferer strike network illustrates the model’s utility.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for Political Methodology. 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The author is grateful to two anonymous reviewers, Janet Box-Steffensmeier, Bear Braumoeller, Skyler Cranmer, Dino Christenson, Christopher Gelpi, Jonathan Katz, Daniel Kent, Brendan Murphy, Andrew Rosenberg, Michael Salter-Townshend, and members of the Network Interdependence in Social Science lab at The Ohio State University for their thoughtful comments. Replication materials and the Supplementary Information (SI) Appendix can be found on the Political Analysis Dataverse (Campbell 2018).

Contributing Editor: Jonathan N. Katz

References

Alpert, Eugene J. 1979. A reconceptualization of representational role theory. Legislative Studies Quarterly 4(4):587603.Google Scholar
Bailey, F. G. 1975. B. Kapferer, strategy and transaction in an african factory. Journal of Asian and African Studies 10(1-2):8687.Google Scholar
Borgatti, Stephen P, and Everett, Martin G.. 1992. Notions of position in social network analysis. Sociological Methodology 22:135.Google Scholar
Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M., Campbell, Benjamin W., Christenson, Dino P., and Navabi, Zachary. 2018. Role analysis using the Ego-ERGM: a look at environmental interest group coalitions. Social Networks, Forthcoming 52:213227.Google Scholar
Braithwaite, Alex, Dasandi, Niheer, and Hudson, David. 2016. Does poverty cause conflict? Isolating the causal origins of the conflict trap. Conflict Management and Peace Science 33(1):4566.Google Scholar
Brandes, U, and Lerner, J.. 2007. Role equivalent actors in networks. In ICFCA Satellite Workshop on Social Network Analysis and Conceptual Structures: Exploring Opportunities, ed. S. Obiedkov and C. Roth.Google Scholar
Campbell, Benjamin. 2018 Replication data for: detecting heterogeneity and inferring latent roles in longitudinal networks, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7910/DVN/TWHEZ9.Google Scholar
Craig, Allison W.2017 Crafting a broad appeal: Congressional audiences and policy collaboration in the modern legislature. PhD Dissertation, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.Google Scholar
Cranmer, Skyler J., and Desmarais, Bruce A.. 2011. Inferential network analysis with exponential random graph models. Political Analysis 19(1):6686.Google Scholar
Dempster, Arthur P, Laird, Nan M., and Rubin, Donald B.. 1977. Maximum likelihood from incomplete data via the EM algorithm. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological) 138.Google Scholar
Desmarais, Bruce A., and Cranmer, Skyler J.. 2012. Statistical mechanics of networks: Estimation and uncertainty. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 391(4):18651876.Google Scholar
Everett, Martin G., and Borgatti, Stephen P.. 1994. Regular equivalence: general theory. Journal of Mathematical Sociology 19(1):2952.Google Scholar
Everett, Martin G., and Borgatti, Stephen P.. 1999. The centrality of groups and classes. The Journal of Mathematical Sociology 23(3):181201.Google Scholar
Fowler, James H. 2006. Connecting the Congress: A study of cosponsorship networks. Political Analysis 14(4):456487.Google Scholar
Gill, Jeff. 2014. Bayesian methods: A social and behavioral sciences approach , vol. 20, CRC Press.Google Scholar
Gleave, Eric, Welser, Howard T., Lento, Thomas M., and Smith, Marc A.. 2009. A conceptual and operational definition of ‘social role’ in online community. In System Sciences, 2009. HICSS’09. 42nd Hawaii International Conference on IEEE, pp. 111.Google Scholar
Hartigan, John A, and Wong, Manchek A.. 1979. Algorithm AS 136: A k-means clustering algorithm. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series C (Applied Statistics) 28(1):100108.Google Scholar
Heath, Anthony. 1974. Strategy and Transaction in an African Factory. Sociology 8(1):179180.Google Scholar
Heisler, Helmuth. Strategy and Transaction in an African Factory. African Affairs 72(286):9697.Google Scholar
Holsti, Kal. 1970. National Role Conceptions in the Study of Foreign Policy. International Studies Quarterly 14(3):233309.Google Scholar
Hrebiniak, Lawrence G., and Alutto, Joseph A.. 1972. Personal and role-related factors in the development of organizational commitment. In Administrative science quarterly , pp. 555573.Google Scholar
Hunter, David R., Goodreau, Steven M., and Handcock, Mark S.. 2008. Goodness of fit of social network models. Journal of the American Statistical Association 103(481):248258.Google Scholar
James, Dorothy B. 1968. Role theory and the supreme court. The Journal of Politics 30(1):160186.Google Scholar
Källstad, Thorvald. 1987. The application of the religio-psychological role theory. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 26(3):367374.Google Scholar
Kapferer, Bruce. 1972. Strategy and transaction in an African factory: African workers and Indian management in a Zambian town . Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
Kass, Robert E., and Raftery, Adrian E.. 1995. Bayes factors. Journal of the American Statistical Association 90(430):773795.Google Scholar
Komarovsky, Mirra. 1992. The concept of social role revisited. Gender and Society 6(2):301313.Google Scholar
Kremer, Lya. 1983. The role of the elementary school principal—as perceived by Israeli principals an attempt at role analysis. International Review of Education 29(1):3746.Google Scholar
Krivitsky, Pavel N., Handcock, Mark S., and Morris, Martina. 2011. Adjusting for network size and composition effects in exponential-family random graph models. Statistical Methodology 8(4):319339.Google Scholar
Lake, David A. 2013. Legitimating power: The domestic politics of US international hierarchy. International Security 38(2):74111.Google Scholar
Leeds, Brett, Ritter, Jeffrey, Mitchell, Sara, and Long, Andrew. 2002. Alliance treaty obligations and provisions. International Interactions 28(3):237260.Google Scholar
Leifeld, Philip, Cranmer, Skyler J., and Desmarais, Bruce A.. 2017. Temporal exponential random graph models with btergm: estimation and bootstrap confidence intervals. Journal of Statistical Software 83(6):136.Google Scholar
Lerner, J. 2005. Network Analysis: Methodological Foundations . Springer chapter Role Assignments, pp. 216252.Google Scholar
Lorrain, Francois, and White, Harrison C.. 1971. Structural equivalence of individuals in social networks. The Journal of mathematical sociology 1(1):4980.Google Scholar
Maoz, Zeev, Kuperman, Ranan D., Terris, Lesley, and Talmud, Ilan. 2006. Structural equivalence and international conflict: A social networks analysis. Journal of Conflict Resolution 50(5):664689.Google Scholar
McKee, Michael R. 1970. To superintend the sick: a role analysis of the hospital administrator. Sociological Focus 3(4):2541.Google Scholar
Mitzen, Jennifer. 2013. Power in concert: The nineteenth-century origins of global governance . University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Morris, Brian. 1971. Reflections on role analysis. The British Journal of Sociology 22(4):395409.Google Scholar
Parsons, Talcott. 1951. The social system . Glencoe, Ill: Free Press.Google Scholar
Pattison, Philippa, and Wasserman, Stanley. 1999. Logit models and logistic regressions for social networks: II. Multivariate relations. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology 52(2):169193.Google Scholar
Salter-Townshend, Michael, and Murphy, Brendan Thomas. 2015. Role analysis in networks using mixtures of exponential random graph models. Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics 24(2):520538.Google Scholar
Schroeder, Paul. 1994. Historical reality vs. neo-realist theory. International Security 19(1):108148.Google Scholar
Snijders, Tom A. B. 2002. Markov chain Monte Carlo estimation of exponential random graph models. Journal of Social Structure 3(2):140.Google Scholar
Snijders, Tom A. B., Pattison, Philippa E., Robins, Garry L., and Handcock, Mark S.. 2006. New specifications for exponential random graph models. Sociological Methodology 36(1):99153.Google Scholar
Thies, Cameron G. 2017. Role theory and foreign policy analysis in Latin America. Foreign Policy Analysis 13(3):662681.Google Scholar
Waltz, Kenneth N. 1979. Theory of international politics . Waveland Press.Google Scholar
Welser, Howard T, Cosley, Dan, Kossinets, Gueorgi, Lin, Austin, Dokshin, Fedor, Gay, Geri, and Smith, Marc. 2011. Finding social roles in Wikipedia. In Proceedings of the 2011 iConference ACM, pp. 122129.Google Scholar
Wendt, Alexander. 1999. Social theory of international politics . Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Campbell supplementary material

Campbell supplementary material 1

Download Campbell supplementary material(File)
File 406 KB