Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Department, recently co-authored the article “Combining social network analysis and geographic information system for communication research: an application to immigrant communities” in Cogent Social Sciences. Dr. Lee and her co-author, Professor Sun Kyong Lee, found that GIS is a useful tool for other fields – such as communications studies – to understand spatial residential patterns.
The authors used a case study of communication networks of immigrant church members in New Jersey to test theories of spatial versus strategic assimilation, visualize social networks, and city racial composition. Through this case study, they found that future research involving questions related to physical locations and space can benefit from combining Social Network Analysis and Geographic Information System techniques in innovative ways.
The article was supported by the OU Libraries’ Open Access Fund. Read the abstract and find a link to the full article below.
Abstract:
Social Network Analysis and Geographic Information Systems can be combined and applied to communication research to better understand how communication networks are associated with spatial or city characteristics. We use a case study of communication networks of immigrant church members (N = 178) in New Jersey to test theories of spatial versus strategic assimilation, visualize social networks, and city racial composition. The findings demonstrate that church members seeking information from coethnic immigrant networks were more likely to live in cities with a concentration of white residents, whereas members who provided more informational support to other members were less likely to live in whiter areas. Thus, coethnic residential choice may not always be linked to immigrant network use and the case applies more to the pattern of strategic assimilation. Future communication research involving questions related to physical locations and space can benefit from combining Social Network Analysis and Geographic Information System techniques in innovative ways.
Read the full article here.