社會網絡分析與中國研究：關係網絡的測量與分析

Abstract

社會網絡分析（Social Network Analysis, SNA）聚焦於關係網絡的結構分析與經驗測量，近二十年來的發展使關係網絡的研究產生重要突破，並且對社會科學的不同領域產生廣泛影響。然而，雖然中國研究的許多重要議題都高度重視關係網絡的運作及影響，但中國研究社群仍對社會網絡分析相當陌生。將社會網絡分析引進中國研究，一方面能夠結合學界對關係網絡的既有研究關懷，提升對經驗現象的描述與解釋能力，另一方面能夠導入許多以網絡分析為基礎的重要理論觀點，促進中國研究與西方主流理論的對話。 本文旨在促進國內中國研究社群對社會網絡分析的理解與應用。本文一方面將介紹社會網絡分析的基本分析概念、主要的應用發展，以及研究方法的操作。另一方面則關注在中國研究的脈絡中，網絡分析的可能應用範圍、具體價值及潛在問題。此外，本文也藉由一個中國愛滋NGO 的研究，展示社會網絡分析如何應用在經驗研究中，以及相關研究結果如何促進對中國國家社會關係的理解。

Social Network Analysis（SNA）focuses on measuring and analyzing the structure of a relational network. In the past two decades, the development of SNA changed social network studies, and broadly impacted on different areas in social science. In the field of China studies, while relational network（quanxi）is an important factor in many research areas, scholars in this field are still not familiar with SNA. However, introducing SNA into China studies will bring significant benefits. It provides a tool kit to describe and explain how networks work, as well as to build connections between China studies and many other important theoretical perspectives based on network analysis in social science. This article aims to promote understanding and application of SNA in the China studies community. It introduces basic concepts of SNA, mainstream applications in social science, and operational processes of related methods. In the context of China studies, this article also discusses feasibility of applying SNA toward research topics, its advantages and potential problems. Furthermore, this article illustrates the use of SNA in empirical studies using an example from AIDS NGOs and their networks in China.