Date Thesis Awarded
5-2017
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
Interdisciplinary Studies
Advisor
David Aday
Committee Members
Amy Quark
Francie Cate-Arries
Abstract
Collective capacity building is often referenced in the development literature as an integral component of development projects, but few attempts to measure capacity empirically are documented. This research examines social network analysis (SNA) as a way to measure changes in network structure that are indicative of collective capacity. By theorizing about network features that may optimize information flow, I have identified promising network parameters for measuring change over time. By manipulating original SNA data sets from two undergraduate community development projects to promote information flow via network structure, I evaluated the robustness of the proposed network measures. Findings include the identification of breadth, component ratio, connectedness and fragmentation as four network measures that may serve as reliable measures of key changes in collective capacity over time.
Recommended Citation
Adan, Matthew Anthony, "Empirical Measures of Collective Capacity: A Social Network Approach" (2017). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1112.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1112
