Research in the social networks laboratory concentrates on the analysis of social networks, and in particular the development of exponential random graph models for social networks (p* models).
These models assume that a large-scale network emerges from combinations of local patterns of interaction among small overlapping subsets of people. Such patterns can often be interpreted as the result of a localized social process, a set of behaviours within each subset of individuals. As a result, these models provide ways to examine large scale network structures (the macro- or global level) as the ramification of overlapping and intersecting localized behavioural patterns (the micro- or local level).

Current Areas of Research

• Statistical models for networks and network-based processes
• The social epidemiology of mental health
• Co-evolution of state and market: Renaissance Florence
• The management of critical water resources: inter-organisational networks and organizational practices in the management of an urban waterway
• Networks and the spread of communicable diseases
• Models and methods for understanding human social networks