Representing Micro-Macro Linkages by Actor-based Dynamic Network Models

Authored by Tom A B Snijders, Christian E G Steglich

Date Published: 2015

DOI: 10.1177/0049124113494573

Sponsors: United States National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Platforms: R RSiena

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Pseudocode Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Stochastic actor-based models for network dynamics have the primary aim of statistical inference about processes of network change, but may be regarded as a kind of agent-based models. Similar to many other agent-based models, they are based on local rules for actor behavior. Different from many other agent-based models, by including elements of generalized linear statistical models they aim to be realistic detailed representations of network dynamics in empirical data sets. Statistical parallels to micro-macro considerations can be found in the estimation of parameters determining local actor behavior from empirical data, and the assessment of goodness of fit from the correspondence with network-level descriptives. This article studies several network-level consequences of dynamic actor-based models applied to represent cross-sectional network data. Two examples illustrate how network-level characteristics can be obtained as emergent features implied by microspecifications of actor-based models.
Tags
Social networks Sociology Random graph models