NETWORK APPROACH IN SOCIOLOGISTS: A THEORETICAL REVIEW OF MAIN DIRECTIONS

Abstract

The twentieth century was marked by a large number of various kinds of changes that affected almost all spheres of society. New phenomena began to appear in sociological science, the explanation of which caused difficulties and required sociological theory to rethink the methods and analytical models used by it. Among the factors that have had an active influence on the evolution of the network concept, first of all, we should include the development of transport infrastructure, telephone networks and the Internet. The concept of a network has been increasingly used to explain social phenomena. This approach in modern sociology is called "network", which, according to many researchers, is quite productive, as it has a high potential in solving existing problems and in forming a response to the emerging tasks of modern sociological science. It should be noted that in the domestic sociological tradition and in applied research, the possibilities of using the "network approach" remain poorly understood. Many Russian sociologists do not include this approach in the focus of their attention. This article presents a comparative theoretical analysis of the existing areas of the network approach. The main aspects of comparison are: the time and context of appearance, the main provisions, the methodology and methods of empirical research. Common features and differences between the analyzed areas are highlighted. At the end of the article, a conclusion is formulated about the autonomy of each of the designated areas. Based on this fact, it is assumed that the term "network approach" is used solely as a collective name for different theories and approaches that operate with the concept of a network in different senses.