Assoc. Prof. Robert Ackland has a joint appointment in the School of Sociology and the Australian Centre for Applied Social Research Methods (AusCen) at the Australian National University (ANU). He was awarded his PhD in economics from the ANU in 2001, and he has been researching online social and organisational networks since 2002. He leads the Virtual Observatory for the Study of Online Networks Lab (http://voson.anu.edu.au) which was established in 2005 and is advancing the social science of the Internet by conducting research, developing research tools, and providing research training. Robert established the Social Science of the Internet specialisation in the ANU′s Master of Social Research in 2008, and his book Web Social Science: Concepts, Data and Tools for Social Scientists in the Digital Age (SAGE) was published in July 2013. He created the VOSON software for hyperlink network construction and analysis, which has been publicly available since 2006 and is used by researchers worldwide.

Ackland′s Web Social Science is unique in being specifically designed for social science researchers. Although written simply enough to be accessible to undergraduates, accomplished scholars are likely to appreciate it too. Reading it taught me quite a lot about a subject I thought I knew rather well.

• Chapter 1. IntroductionPART ONE: WEB SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODSChapter 2. Online Research MethodsDimensions and Modes of Online ResearchOnline SurveysOnline Interviews and Focus GroupsWeb Content AnalysisSocial Media Network AnalysisOnline ExperimentsOnline Field ResearchDigital Trace Data: EthicsChapter 3. Social Media NetworksSocial Networks: Concepts and DefinitionsSocial Network AnalysisSocial Media NetworksSocial Networks, Information Networks and Communication NetworksSNA Metrics for the Example School Friendship Network (advanced)Chapter 4. Hyperlink NetworksHyperlink Networks: BackgroundThree Disciplinary Perspectives on Hyperlink NetworksTools for Hyperlink Network ResearchPART TWO: WEB SOCIAL SCIENCE EXAMPLESChapter 5. Friendship Formation and Social InfluenceHomophily in Friendship FormationSocial InfluenceChapter 6. Organisational Collective BehaviourCollective Behaviour on the Web: BackgroundCollective Action and Public GoodsNetworked Social MovementsChapter 7. Politics and ParticipationVisibility of Political InformationSocial and Political EngagementPolitical HomophilyAn Introduction to Power Laws (advanced)Chapter 8. Government and Public PolicyDelivery of Information to CitizensGovernment AuthorityPublic Policy ModellingChapter 9. Production and CollaborationPeer Production and Information Public GoodsScholarly Activity and Communication Network Structure and AchievementChapter 10. Commerce and MarketingDistribution of Product SalesInfluence in Markets

Assoc. Prof. Robert Ackland has a joint appointment in the School of Sociology and the Australian Centre for Applied Social Research Methods (AusCen) at the Australian National University (ANU). He was awarded his PhD in economics from the ANU in 2001, and he has been researching online social and organisational networks since 2002. He leads the Virtual Observatory for the Study of Online Networks Lab (http://voson.anu.edu.au) which was established in 2005 and is advancing the social science of the Internet by conducting research, developing research tools, and providing research training. Robert established the Social Science of the Internet specialisation in the ANU′s Master of Social Research in 2008, and his book Web Social Science: Concepts, Data and Tools for Social Scientists in the Digital Age (SAGE) was published in July 2013. He created the VOSON software for hyperlink network construction and analysis, which has been publicly available since 2006 and is used by researchers worldwide.

Ackland′s Web Social Science is unique in being specifically designed for social science researchers. Although written simply enough to be accessible to undergraduates, accomplished scholars are likely to appreciate it too. Reading it taught me quite a lot about a subject I thought I knew rather well.

• Chapter 1. IntroductionPART ONE: WEB SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODSChapter 2. Online Research MethodsDimensions and Modes of Online ResearchOnline SurveysOnline Interviews and Focus GroupsWeb Content AnalysisSocial Media Network AnalysisOnline ExperimentsOnline Field ResearchDigital Trace Data: EthicsChapter 3. Social Media NetworksSocial Networks: Concepts and DefinitionsSocial Network AnalysisSocial Media NetworksSocial Networks, Information Networks and Communication NetworksSNA Metrics for the Example School Friendship Network (advanced)Chapter 4. Hyperlink NetworksHyperlink Networks: BackgroundThree Disciplinary Perspectives on Hyperlink NetworksTools for Hyperlink Network ResearchPART TWO: WEB SOCIAL SCIENCE EXAMPLESChapter 5. Friendship Formation and Social InfluenceHomophily in Friendship FormationSocial InfluenceChapter 6. Organisational Collective BehaviourCollective Behaviour on the Web: BackgroundCollective Action and Public GoodsNetworked Social MovementsChapter 7. Politics and ParticipationVisibility of Political InformationSocial and Political EngagementPolitical HomophilyAn Introduction to Power Laws (advanced)Chapter 8. Government and Public PolicyDelivery of Information to CitizensGovernment AuthorityPublic Policy ModellingChapter 9. Production and CollaborationPeer Production and Information Public GoodsScholarly Activity and Communication Network Structure and AchievementChapter 10. Commerce and MarketingDistribution of Product SalesInfluence in Markets

Assoc. Prof. Robert Ackland has a joint appointment in the School of Sociology and the Australian Centre for Applied Social Research Methods (AusCen) at the Australian National University (ANU). He was awarded his PhD in economics from the ANU in 2001, and he has been researching online social and organisational networks since 2002. He leads the Virtual Observatory for the Study of Online Networks Lab (http://voson.anu.edu.au) which was established in 2005 and is advancing the social science of the Internet by conducting research, developing research tools, and providing research training. Robert established the Social Science of the Internet specialisation in the ANU′s Master of Social Research in 2008, and his book Web Social Science: Concepts, Data and Tools for Social Scientists in the Digital Age (SAGE) was published in July 2013. He created the VOSON software for hyperlink network construction and analysis, which has been publicly available since 2006 and is used by researchers worldwide.

Ackland′s Web Social Science is unique in being specifically designed for social science researchers. Although written simply enough to be accessible to undergraduates, accomplished scholars are likely to appreciate it too. Reading it taught me quite a lot about a subject I thought I knew rather well.

• Chapter 1. IntroductionPART ONE: WEB SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODSChapter 2. Online Research MethodsDimensions and Modes of Online ResearchOnline SurveysOnline Interviews and Focus GroupsWeb Content AnalysisSocial Media Network AnalysisOnline ExperimentsOnline Field ResearchDigital Trace Data: EthicsChapter 3. Social Media NetworksSocial Networks: Concepts and DefinitionsSocial Network AnalysisSocial Media NetworksSocial Networks, Information Networks and Communication NetworksSNA Metrics for the Example School Friendship Network (advanced)Chapter 4. Hyperlink NetworksHyperlink Networks: BackgroundThree Disciplinary Perspectives on Hyperlink NetworksTools for Hyperlink Network ResearchPART TWO: WEB SOCIAL SCIENCE EXAMPLESChapter 5. Friendship Formation and Social InfluenceHomophily in Friendship FormationSocial InfluenceChapter 6. Organisational Collective BehaviourCollective Behaviour on the Web: BackgroundCollective Action and Public GoodsNetworked Social MovementsChapter 7. Politics and ParticipationVisibility of Political InformationSocial and Political EngagementPolitical HomophilyAn Introduction to Power Laws (advanced)Chapter 8. Government and Public PolicyDelivery of Information to CitizensGovernment AuthorityPublic Policy ModellingChapter 9. Production and CollaborationPeer Production and Information Public GoodsScholarly Activity and Communication Network Structure and AchievementChapter 10. Commerce and MarketingDistribution of Product SalesInfluence in Markets