The swift spread of social network concepts and their applications and the rising use of network analysis in social science has necessitated an overview of this field. This book explains the big ideas that underlie the social network phenomenon. It covers fundamental concepts, then discusses networks and their core themes in increasing order of complexity. The author demystifies the concepts, theories, and findings developed by network experts. He selects material that serves as basic building blocks and examples of best practices that will allow the reader to understand and evaluate new developments as they emerge.