Social Spatial Network Tools in R

Introduction to Social Spatial Networks (SSNs):

Researchers in the social sciences have used social networks/sociograms to visualize the connections and relationships of people in a community since the 1930s (Andris & Sarkar, 2022). However, these networks are aspatial and do not integrate geospatial information about individuals to analyze and explain these relationships (and lack of relationships). Based on Tobler's First Law () "everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things", it could be theorized that people who live/work near one another are more likely to have similar characteristics and to interact more frequently, but this cannot be confirmed using sociograms alone as they lack a spatial component. Networking and graph theory from the field of Computer Science is also tangentially related to social-spatial networking, but is generally focused on the abstract or theoretical connections between nodes, rather than simulations of real world phenomena (Bondy, 1982). Finally, network analysis also exists within traditional GIS fields and discussions, though this generally based on the distribution of goods and services along pre-defined road/stream networks, rather than a focus on the relationship/connection outside of pre-defined networks (Andris & Sarkar, 2022). Social-Spatial Networks are an integration of the ideas found in these different fields to analyze and document social relationships/connections between individuals situated within their geospatial locations to better understand how connections are formed and maintained.

Define Terms - Nodes - Edges

Buidling a Dataset for a Social-Spatial Network:

- Essential & Additional Information - Define Your Study Participants - Geolocation of Written Descriptions - Relationship Definitions & Mapping

SSNtools - R Library

References Andris, C., & Sarkar, D. (2022). Social networks in space. Chapters, 400-415. Bondy, J. A. (1982). Graph theory with applications.