Exponential Random Graph Models for Social Networks: Theory, Methods, and Applications

Exponential random graph models (ERGMs) are increasingly applied to observed network data and are central to understanding social structure and network processes. The chapters in this edited volume provide the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of ERGMs, including models for univariate, multivariate, bipartite, longitudinal, and social-influence type ERGMs. Each method is applied in individual case studies illustrating how social science theories may be examined empirically using ERGMs. The authors supply the reader with sufficient detail to specify ERGMs, fit them to data with any of the available software packages, and interpret the results.

Dr Dean Lusher is Lecturer in Sociology at Swinburne University of Technology. He works closely with leading methodologists to develop an intuitive understanding of exponential graph models, how they link to broader network theory, and how to fit them to real-life data. His research applications are directed at issues of social norms and social hierarchies.

Dr Johan Koskinen is Lecturer in Social Sciences at the University of Manchester. He is a statistician working with statistical modeling and inference. Focusing on social network data, Dr Koskinen deals with generative models for different types of structures, such as longitudinal network data, networks nested in multilevel structures, and multilevel networks classified by affiliations.

Garry Robins is Professor in the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Robins is a mathematical psychologist whose research deals with quantitative and statistical models for social and relational systems. His research has won international awards from the Psychometric Society, the American Psychological Association, and the International Network for Social Network Analysis.