A user-friendly intro to studying real-world networks.  Covers the fundamentals of social networks with a heavy emphasis on intuition and examples.  Orients the research process around theory that specifies what exactly the network is and why it might be important.  Offers a framework for developing this theory and using it to guide all subsequent steps of a project.

 

Covers a range of practical topics including selecting operationalizations, cutting survey costs, and cleaning data.  Includes a tutorial for getting started in analyzing networks in R, technical sections full of examples, points to hone intuition, and practice problems with solutions.