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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Social and Economic Networks: Models and Analysis by Stanford University

4.8
stars
720 ratings

About the Course

Learn how to model social and economic networks and their impact on human behavior. How do networks form, why do they exhibit certain patterns, and how does their structure impact diffusion, learning, and other behaviors? We will bring together models and techniques from economics, sociology, math, physics, statistics and computer science to answer these questions. The course begins with some empirical background on social and economic networks, and an overview of concepts used to describe and measure networks. Next, we will cover a set of models of how networks form, including random network models as well as strategic formation models, and some hybrids. We will then discuss a series of models of how networks impact behavior, including contagion, diffusion, learning, and peer influences. You can find a more detailed syllabus here: http://web.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/Networks-Online-Syllabus.pdf You can find a short introductory videao here: http://web.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/Intro_Networks.mp4...

Top reviews

AB

Apr 21, 2021

Very well done and explained, full of insight in the social network analysis!!! Lots of ideas about using it in company and team behaviours! Economical analysis of financial contagion is insightful!!!

LN

Jul 2, 2021

I was new to network theory but the concepts were very well articulated. A whole new way of looking at what makes social relationships, favor exchange(s) and social networks work. Well worth the time.

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1 - 25 of 169 Reviews for Social and Economic Networks: Models and Analysis

By Michael G

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Apr 16, 2018

Great survey course for social network analysis. Dr. Jackson's lectures motivated me to buy the book, and I hope to come back to this course later to work more on the optional parts.

By Isard D

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May 15, 2019

Dear Matthew,

Thank you so much for a wonderful introduction to social and economic networks. Your lectures were wonderful. Your choice of topics was superb and your top-notch pedagogical skills show through when you explain difficult concepts with disarming simplicity. I had no idea that your course will be so enjoyable. Thank you for introducing me to this fascinating subject. Now, at least I have some rudimentary understanding of this field and will dig further to incorporate networking tools in my research.

The videos are high quality and it is such a blessing to have the replay option. The cure for senior moments is to use replays. I can't wait for your followup: advanced topics in networking. Thanks, Isi

By Sanjoy B

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Oct 11, 2020

Very important course. My suggestion to the Prof. if he can increase the course length and include more details that would be much better or he can come up with advance course on the same series.

By Nikita S

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May 29, 2020

The course is extremely well-structured and very well in-depth. The beginning is smooth and very carefully put together which makes it really interesting and hard to drop. This interest is also pulled further as we go deeper into social networks and their modelling. A lot of fundamental economic subjects of utility maximization, game theory, rationalization, etc are explained in a simple yet accurate manner. The course is solely enhanced multiple folds due to the instructor as he is very precise, clear and crisp with his explanations and is extremely well-researched. The clarity of thought and his method of explaining even complex mathematical forms and derivations so easily by breaking them down makes the course a lot easier and interesting, even for a person who does not possess a higher level of skill in mathematics. I would love to take up another course by the same instructor.

Overall, I absolutely do not see room for criticism in this course nor with the teacher.

Thank you, as this was extremely helpful and interesting.

By THANACHON C

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Apr 29, 2017

An overview of concepts and models of how networks form. There are applicable with basic concepts from probability theory, statistics, and some light calculus astonishingly well.

By Manoel R

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Nov 2, 2017

Really enjoyed this course. The professor is really good and covers quite a lot of ground during the lectures. Good way to get into complex networks! Probably gonna do some studying on my own now :)

By Siqi, W

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Aug 8, 2016

Very good course on Social Networks, and also a hard one even for graduate level. Generally assignments are not too tough but fully understanding all the concepts take lots of extra readings.

By Laurent G

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Mar 1, 2018

Prof. Jackson is an outstanding teacher, and I very much enjoyed this course. I come from a probability background (PhD) but never looked at graphs or networks before. I thought that the course was very well made, with a perfect balance between theoretical concepts and practical applications. I also think that Prof. Jackson's treatment of mathematical concepts is entirely optimal given the diverse audience he most likely has: it is technical, but definitely not going into the more formal details you would get in a math course. I think this is great, because for the more math-oriented people it's just an occasion to look up some references, or think about a more formal way of expressing the concepts in question, while it does not overwhelm those who don't want to go through a bunch of existence theorems. By all counts, an outstanding course.

By Thiago F R A R

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Jun 21, 2022

This course provides a solid foundation to start exploring the world of networks. The lessons are thorough and the professor clearly has many years of experience in the topic, as he is able to anticipate questions and pitfalls that are common to beginners. Still, I should warn anyone interested in this course that it requires a great dose of mathematics, from linear algebra to differential calculus. No calculation is particularly difficult, but if you are rusted (as I was) and want to understand where the models came from, the course can take much longer to be completed. I believe this course is most suited to researchers and students with a quantitative background that would like to expand their theoretical and methodological views.

By Alfredo M

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Sep 17, 2022

One of the best courses I ever made on Coursera. Profound, informative and entretaining. Covers from learning to social networks, from mathematics to economy. Professor Jackson, with extraordinary didactic, teaches in a way you can grasp the meaning of the most complicated mathematical problems, so Google Page number, externalities, Pareto Effieciency, consensus, Nash equilibrium, homophily, and state transitions will be reached in a logical and self-contained percourse. Most of all, the course made me feel back in the engineering school, the fun of discovering new worlds and acquiring new skills.

By Noah J W

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Nov 17, 2018

A very comprehensive course, taught in a very engaging manner by a top-caliber researcher and professor. An improvement would be adding a separate problem set for each lecture topic, to more thoroughly test specific understanding immediately after the teaching. Also, some of the Gephi instructions were not quite clear enough.

Getting Prof. Jackson's book as a companion to this course is very useful.

By Tongtong H

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Dec 5, 2016

Excellent course for both advanced micro theory PhD learners who wants to go deep into the prove and master (and up) level learner who wants to have a flavour of Network Theory. Professor Jackson is great in interpreting the intuition behind the theory and prove. This 8 weeks are great learning experience for me!

By Lillian D N

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Jul 3, 2021

I was new to network theory but the concepts were very well articulated. A whole new way of looking at what makes social relationships, favor exchange(s) and social networks work. Well worth the time.

By antonio b

•

Apr 22, 2021

Very well done and explained, full of insight in the social network analysis!!! Lots of ideas about using it in company and team behaviours! Economical analysis of financial contagion is insightful!!!

By Julia L B

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Apr 18, 2020

heavy stuff, especially if you're not that deep into the mathematics, but great overview. It will give you a better understandig of SNA. I miss the economical examples though.

By Gabriel P

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Jun 25, 2016

A very usefull course very different from others. Although for coursera standars, its very extensive and not so basic, that´s why I think its great

By Jess B

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Jul 13, 2017

I got a lot out of the course. However, there are still several concepts I'm really, really fuzzy on, such as Pareto efficiency, games on networks, Nash stability, & strategic complements/substitutes. I've already directly applied the lessons from the course to work I'm doing, but it's frustrating that there isn't some kind of office hours or way to sit down with someone and go through these concepts one step at a time. I get the general concept of all of them, but I look at some things and end up at different conclusions because I'm missing something. That's not a statement about this course, it's just the reality of taking online courses. I know if I could walk through it and see where the logic is off, I'd get it better.

By Wilson O

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Oct 8, 2023

Professor Jackson's class was an enjoyable learning experience for me. I read his "The Human Network" and "Social and Economic Networks" as the class lecture notes and lectures, though well written and well taught respective, are at times a little difficult for me to get all the concepts straight. The best part of the course was how it shows the various mathematical modeling could be done for social/economic networks. The last part on Game Theory was a little rushed. The way this class was structured was to allow different people to capture the material at different levels. Quiz and exams were quite easy, and I feel that more exercise problems could help.

By Raphael M F

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Mar 3, 2022

Fantástico! As aulas são ministradas com os journals(papers) do próprio autor com sua vasta expertise no campo, sendo uma suma autoridadeno assunto. Temos a grandiosidade e majestosa humildade em ser um ótimo divulgador cientifíco, por meio de abordagens simples que demonstram ideias complexas recheadas de formalismo, as quais podem ser compreendidas por um público mais amplo. O curso tem alguns anos e continua sendo imprecindível para aqueles que almejam aperfeiçoar em SNA(Social Network Analysis). Temos uma boa base teórica sólida sobre diversos temas desta área com algumas discussões ricas entre resultados recentemente publicados nos últimos anos.

By Rebecca A

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Jan 13, 2022

I decided to take this course after taking Princeton's Global Systemic Risk (GSR). They are perfect complements, if that is what you are interested in. While this course is more modelling and data oriented, the GSR course applies that information and shows you how you can use the data you have gathered in a very directed manner. I am more of let us apply the data gathered and would happily leave the modelling to someone else, but it was interesting to learn how the data is gathered.

By Esmaeil M

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Jan 19, 2023

Participating in this course was a very good experience and I received very good information and knowledge during this online course. Thanks to dear Professor Matthew O. Jackson for holding this course, who provided us with very interesting information about social and economic network analysis. And thanks to the Coursera site, which provides the possibility of high-level education for everyone, in coordination with universities and prestigious international institutions.

By HEF

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Apr 15, 2019

Challenging but worthwhile. So amazing that it took me to analyse things from a completely new perspective. I felt much more sophisticated in modeling things like economics, sociology, politics and epidemics, just to name a few. The course is well organized from simple basics in the first few weeks to the more advanced models in the later half. The quiz style is also very friendly to help me review the important concepts, and also try out softwares like Gephi and Pajek.

By Ajinkya K

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Oct 24, 2017

A great course for anyone interested in learning about networks and social interactions. This course is ideal for a wide range of audience, from someone looking for an overview and introduction to networks to someone looking for a deep dive into networks and applying it to their research. Matt is a great communicator and presents the ideas in an intuitive fashion , had a great time doing all his material. Thank you Stanford and Matt Jackson for this amazing experience.

By Andre Z

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Jan 29, 2024

I'm sure this network course will give you the understanding and confidence to analyze social media successfully. This course is dedicated to the subject of social network analysis with a focus on the economical component. I am grateful to Coursera, Stanford University and professor Matthew Owen Jackson for comfortable studying conditions, for the chance to get really high-quality knowledge and study in a very friendly atmosphere.