POLS4158E Week 1 & 2 Vocab

Political Network

A set of relationships among political actors such as citizens interest groups legislators parties and government officials

Social Network

A structure of connected individuals or organizations linked through relationships or interactions

Causality

A relationship where one factor directly causes a change in another factor

Causal Inference

The process of determining whether a relationship is truly causal rather than merely correlated

Egocentric Network

A network centered on one individual and their direct connections

Sociocentric Network

A complete network that includes all members and connections within a defined group

Ego

The focal individual being studied in a network

Alter

A person connected to the focal individual in a network

Homophily

The tendency for people to form relationships with others who are similar to themselves

Network Influence

The process by which attitudes behaviors or information spread through social ties

Contextual Effects

Similar outcomes caused by shared environments rather than direct influence

Measurement Error

Inaccuracy in data collection or reporting that can distort findings

Field Experiment

A real world experiment used to identify causal effects

Diffusion

The spread of ideas behaviors information or innovations through a network

Exogenous Change

A change originating outside the system being studied

Endogenous Change

A change generated from within the system being studied

Counterfactual

The hypothetical outcome that would occur if a treatment or condition were absent

Rubin Causal Model

A framework that compares observed outcomes to hypothetical alternative outcomes

Treatment Variable

The factor whose causal effect is being studied

Selection Bias

Distortion caused when people choose relationships or situations nonrandomly

Network Battery

Survey questions used to gather information about a respondent's social network

Discussant

A person with whom an individual discusses politics or public affairs

Peer Effect

The influence of friends or associates on an individual's attitudes or behavior

Panel Survey

A survey that follows the same respondents over multiple points in time

Difference in Differences

A method that estimates causal effects by comparing changes across groups over time

Sensitivity Analysis

A test of whether results remain valid under alternative assumptions

Random Clustering

Similarity among connected individuals that occurs by chance

Dyad

A pair of connected actors in a network

Degree of Separation

The number of connections required to link two people

Indirect Effect

Influence that passes through intermediaries rather than directly

Longitudinal Data

Data collected from the same subjects over time

Generalized Estimating Equation

A statistical method used for repeated observations and correlated data

Network Topology

The overall pattern of connections within a network

Small World Network

A network where most actors are connected through a surprisingly small number of steps

Weak Tie

A relatively infrequent or less intimate social relationship

Strong Tie

A close and frequently interacting social relationship

Social Capital

Benefits gained from relationships and network connections

Network Closure

A condition where friends of friends are also connected to each other

Structural Hole

A gap between groups that can be bridged by a strategically positioned actor

Centrality

A measure of how important or influential an actor is within a network

Betweenness Centrality

A measure of how often an actor lies on the shortest path between others

Network Density

The proportion of possible connections that actually exist

Core Periphery Structure

A network with a densely connected core and a less connected outer group

Political Coalition

A group of actors working toward a shared political goal

Interest Group

An organization that seeks to influence public policy

Interest Group Network

Relationships among organizations pursuing political objectives

Advocacy Coalition

A set of actors who coordinate around shared policy beliefs

Issue Network

A network of actors connected through common interest in a policy issue

Party Coalition

A collection of groups and actors aligned with a political party

Expanded Party Organization

The broader network of activists donors groups and officials that support a political party

Legislative Coalition

A group of organizations or actors supporting the same legislative proposal

Legislative Subsidy

Resources provided by interest groups to help legislators advance shared policy goals

Policy Advocate

An actor actively promoting a policy position

Lobbying

Efforts to influence government decisions and public policy

Lobbyist

A person who advocates on behalf of an organization or cause

Mobilization

The process of encouraging participation and collective action

Bandwagon Effect

The tendency to join a cause that already appears successful

Government Ally

A public official who actively supports a policy position

Policy Subsystem

A network of actors focused on a particular policy area

Issue Salience

The degree of public attention given to an issue

Partisanship

Strong alignment with a political party

Policy Entrepreneur

An actor who invests resources to promote policy change

Hyperlink Network

A network created through we links connecting websites

Inlink

A hyperlink directed toward a website from another site

Outlink

A hyperlink directed from a website to another site

Co Inlink

A shared incoming link connecting two websites through a common source

Issue Ecology

The structure of relationships among issues discussed by political actors

Social Embeddedness

The idea that behavior is shaped by social relationships and network positions

Relational Embeddedness

Influence derived from direct relationships between actors

Structural Embeddedness

Influence derived from an actor's position within a larger network structure

Positional Embeddedness

Influence derived from an actor's overall location and status in a network

Agenda Setting

The process of influencing which issues receive political attention

Affiliation Network

A network created when actors share membership support or participation in common activities

PAC Contribution

A campaign donation made through a Political Action Committee

Political Action Committee PAC

An organization that raises and spends money to influence elections

Endorsement Network

A network formed when groups support the same candidates

Bipartisan Coalition

A coalition that includes actors from both major political parties

Polarization

The division of political actors into opposing ideological camps

Winner Take All Election

An election system where victory goes entirely to the top candidate or party

Coordination

The alignment of actions among political actors pursuing shared goals

Network Analysis

The study of relationships and patterns of connections among actors

Relational Data

Information describing connections among actors rather than individual characteristics

One Mode Network

A network containing one type of actor connected to others of the same type

Two Mode Network

A network connecting two different types of actors such as groups and candidates

Community Detection

Methods used to identify clusters or subgroups within a network