How powerful are your social connections? – Quantifying social capital using network metrics.

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Sähkötekniikan korkeakoulu | Bachelor's thesis
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Date

2024-04-26

Department

Major/Subject

Digital Systems and Design

Mcode

ELEC3056

Degree programme

Aalto Bachelor's Programme in Science and Technology

Language

en

Pages

21+3

Series

Abstract

Social capital is a relevant concept in Sociology and has grown in popularity in the field of Social Network Analysis. Studying social capital in a network can provide insights into improving connections, optimizing the access to resources, and bettering the quality of life and trade between people. Centrality metrics have been widely used in the analysis of social networks in different contexts and applications. While centralities are often used in SNA, the research on the way these centrality metrics evaluate social capital in different networks is somewhat limited. This thesis, in the form of a literature review, evaluates the benefits and limitations of centrality metrics commonly used in the analysis of social capital. Additionally, the thesis investigates some current findings and new metrics proposed to study social capital. The research concluded that each of the studied centrality metrics is suitable for the analysis of specific aspects of social capital, with each metric emphasizing and capturing a different one. Furthermore, it was found that the analysis of multiple metrics for a single network has the potential of providing a comprehensive analysis of social capital of a specific individual or community. Lastly, the work recommends further research on the adaptations proposed for the analysis of social capital in different networks. Moreover, it calls for more research on the recently proposed metrics and indexes.

Description

Supervisor

Ylirisku, Salu

Thesis advisor

Keller, Barbara

Keywords

centrality, social network analysis, social capital

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202406184539

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[kand] Sähkötekniikan korkeakoulu / ELEC