Testing multitheoretical, mutlilevel hypotheses about networks

Noshir Contractor, Ph.D.
Northwestern University

ABSTRACT:
Networks are agile and are constantly adapting as new links are added and others dropped. We review the theoretical mechanisms that have been used to explain emergence of the networks. We then offer an analytic framework to specify and statistically test simultaneously multilevel, multitheoretical hypotheses about the structural tendencies of networks. Specifically, we focus on Exponential Random Graph models for cross-sectional networks, stochastic actor-oriented models for longitudinal panel network data, and relational event modeling for continuous (time stamped) data. We offer empirical examples to illustrate the capabilities of this framework.