Networks of context: Three-layer socio-cultural mapping for a Verstehende network analysis

Nikita Basov*, Darya Kholodova

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

97 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

What social ties are and how they operate depends on the cultural context constitutive of their meaning. Pursuing an explanatory account for the cultural embeddedness of social ties, we draw on Verstehende sociology and rely on in-depth insight into subjective perceptions developed by social network actors throughout their practice to represent symbolic and material contexts of social ties structurally. We put forward a new mixed data collection and processing approach that ethnographically maps interconnected three-layer socio-cultural networks of individuals, signs, and material objects. Opening cultural contexts to application of formal and statistical techniques, this approach allows for an 'interpretive explanation' of social ties. Illustrating the approach with our own longitudinal study of five European art groups, we discuss the peculiarities of three-layer socio-cultural data collection and processing, the new discoveries enabled, the challenges encountered, the solutions we came up with, and the utility of this approach for conducting 'Verstehende network analysis' in various fields of application.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)84-101
Number of pages18
JournalSocial Networks
Volume69
Early online date4 Apr 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2022

Keywords

  • Cultural context
  • Mixed method
  • Network data
  • Three-layer socio-cultural network
  • Verstehende network analysis

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Networks of context: Three-layer socio-cultural mapping for a Verstehende network analysis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this