Network Models of the Diffusion of Innovations (Quantitative Methods in Communication Subseries) [Paperback]

Thomas W. Valente (Author)

Book Description

Series: Quantitative Methods in Communication Subseries | Publication Date: January 10, 1995

This text presents a key to understanding how ideas, products and opinions "take off" and spread throughout society - referred to as the diffusion of innovation - and provides a means to estimate how fast or slow that spread occurs. The diffusion of innovations occurs among individuals in a social system, and the pattern of communications among these individuals is a social network. The network determines how quickly innovations diffuse and the timing of each individual's adoption. The book thus analyses how social networks structure the diffusion of innovation. Chapter 1 reviews the diffusion of innovation theory, network analysis, and the datasets used as examples. Chapter 2 reviews prior research conducted on threshold and critical mass models. Chapter 3 presents relational network models of diffusion which posit that individuals adopt innovations based on their direct relations with others in their social system, and the next chapter provides structural network models of diffusion which posit that individuals adopt innovations based on their position in the social system, regardless of direct ties to specific others. Threshold and critical mass models of diffusion are presented in chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 7 develops a general threshold model of adoption based on social networks. This book is addressed to researchers, policymakers and students interested in diffusion of innovation or network analysis. It is also meant for those interested in studying the process of social change as represented by a diffusion network paradigm. Finally, individuals interested in developing, evaluating or understanding communication campaigns and media effects can use these concepts to improve their work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 171 pages
• Publisher: Hampton Press (NJ) (January 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881303225
• ISBN-13: 978-1881303220
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #437,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas W. Valente is a Professor and Director of the Master of Public Health Program in the Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. He is author of Social Networks and Health: Models, Methods, and Applications (2010, Oxford University Press); Evaluating Health Promotion Programs (2002, Oxford University Press); Network Models of the Diffusion of Innovations (1995, Hampton Press); and over 100 articles and chapters on social networks, behavior change, and program evaluation. Valente uses social network analysis, health communication, and mathematical models to implement and evaluate health promotion programs designed to prevent tobacco and substance abuse, unintended fertility, and STD/HIV infections. He is also engaged in mapping community coalitions and collaborations to improve health care delivery and reduce healthcare disparities. Valente received his BS in Mathematics from the University of Mary Washington, his MS in Mass Communication from San Diego State University, and his PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication at USC. He is currently a visiting Professor the École des Haute Études en Santé Publique.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars State-of-the-Art Thinking on Innovation Research...for 1975, February 22, 2002

By 

Bradd E. Libby (Amherst, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Network Models of the Diffusion of Innovations (Quantitative Methods in Communication Subseries) (Paperback)

Though published in 1995, this book reads like it was written 20 years prior. The core chapters are each devoted to a different class of network models (relational networks, structural networks, threshold models, critcal mass models, and a chapter for 'others') and the author compares predictions made by each type to classic historical data regarding farmers in Brazil, birth control in Korea, and antibiotics among doctors. However, not a mention is made of the 'Santa Fe' school of innovation diffusion research and references to the wealth of recent research is scant (A survey of 2 randomly selected pages from the References show that, of the 35 works that appear on the pages, only 8 were less than 5 years old while 13 were from more than 20 years prior to the book's publication).

Further, the book doesn't seem to be well-suited to any particular kind of reader: because it lacks end of chapter exercises, it would not make a good textbook; it is extraordinarily light on mathematics (considering the subject matter) to be helpful to the serious scholar; and it doesn't cover the topics discussed nearly as well as, say, Everett Rogers' _Diffusion of Innovations_ or Duncan Watts' _Small Worlds_ to be interesting to the average reader. The body of innovation diffusion research is too rich to waste time reading this book, unless it's just for reference purposes.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The practical applications of social network analysis!, March 6, 2002

By 

Jennifer B. Unger "[e-mail]" (Pasadena, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Network Models of the Diffusion of Innovations (Quantitative Methods in Communication Subseries) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent review of the applications of social network analysis to health communication research. Tom Valente is an internationally-recognized scholar in social network analysis and health communication. In this book, he offers a very readable description of how social networks can be used to understand the transmission of new ideas through society. This knowledge is particularly important for the design of media-based education and advertising campaigns, because it explains how information is passed from person to person within a social network. Despite the rigorous mathematics underlying social network analysis, Dr. Valente presents the information in a way that can be understood by most applied social scientists. A must-read for social scientists who are interested in social networks!