Title

Statistical Power Of The Social Network Autocorrelation Model

Keywords

Network autocorrelation model; Social network analysis; Statistical power

Abstract

The network autocorrelation model has become an increasingly popular tool for conducting social network analysis. More and more researchers, however, have documented evidence of a systematic negative bias in the estimation of the network effect (. ρ). In this paper, we take a different approach to the problem by investigating conditions under which, despite the underestimation bias, a network effect can still be detected by the network autocorrelation model. Using simulations, we find that moderately-sized network effects (e.g., ρ=. .3) are still often detectable in modest-sized networks (i.e., 40 or more nodes). Analyses reveal that statistical power is primarily a nonlinear function of network effect size (. ρ) and network size (. N), although both of these factors can interact with network density and network structure to impair power under certain rare conditions. We conclude by discussing implications of these findings and guidelines for users of the autocorrelation model. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Publication Date

1-1-2014

Publication Title

Social Networks

Volume

38

Issue

1

Number of Pages

88-99

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2014.03.004

Socpus ID

84897943745 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84897943745

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