[ecrea] ICA Preconference "Bringing together Social and Semantic Networks in Communication Research"

CALL FOR PAPERS

Bringing together Social and Semantic Networks in Communication Research

Wouter van Atteveldt, Christian Baden, Jana Diesner (alphabetic)

ICA 2015 Preconference

Co-Sponsored by ICA’s Communication & Technology, Mass Communication & 
Political Communication Divisions

http://www.c-b.net/netcom2015.pdf


While the analysis of social networks and semantic networks has quickly 
advanced over the past years, this development is still weakly received 
in the communication sciences. Network researchers have developed a 
whole bouquet of powerful and scalable tools and methods to the analysis 
of discourse texts and communicative interactions, and first inroads are 
being cut toward the joint analysis of social and semantic network data. 
However, these methods’ communication theoretic foundations, as well as 
their applications for addressing pressing questions in the field are 
still underdeveloped. Moreover, social and semantic network analytic 
approaches are most commonly considered separately. Yet, communication 
processes inevitably include patterns of both social relations and 
semantic contents, which can often be fruitfully conceptualized as 
networks. Building upon last year’s preconference on this theme, this 
event is aimed to connect network analytic methodology with important 
developments in the field of communication research, such as:

§ the rising attention to the semantic substance and meaning of messages 
and the configuration of different communication content exchanged in 
public discourses

§ the theoretically grounded integration of text and social network data 
in communication analysis (e.g., in social media communication).

§ the rising importance of networked organizations and forms of 
organizing and communicating with flat hierarchies, a dedifferentiation 
of communicator roles, and self-organizing publics

§ the reconceptualization of existing communication patterns, social 
structures, institutions, and other in society in terms of interaction 
networks

The preconference is co-sponsored by the ICA Communication & Technology 
Division, the ICA Mass Communication Division and the ICA Political 
Communication Division, but it touches upon the fields of many more ICA 
divisions and interest groups. The preconference aims to bring together 
researchers from different backgrounds, including theoretically, 
methodologically, and practically oriented researchers in diverse fields 
of application, both inside and outside the academia. It thereby aims to 
instill a mutual learning process and exchange innovative ideas and 
challenges for the further development of network analysis in 
communication research.

We invite contributions that make use of social, semantic, or both types 
of network analysis to address relevant questions in communication 
research, to advance network analytic methodology for the study of 
communication, or to advance communication theory to integrate with 
network analytic methodology. Specifically, we welcome any contributions 
that consider how semantic and social relations and processes might be 
linked or can affect one another (e.g., semantic networks related to 
social groups or interactions, social networks related to semantic 
contents or ideas, socio-semantic networks). We are also looking for 
technological advances in the form of new computational solutions and 
tool demonstrations.



CONFERENCE FORMAT & SUBMISSIONS (Paper, Data Presentations, Tool 
Presentations)

Contributions can come from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds, 
but should relate to both network analytic methodology and communication 
science research questions and/or theory. Submissions will be evaluated 
according to their innovative potential, methodological quality, and 
contribution to communication science research. In addition to more 
classic research presentations, we explicitly invite tool- and data sharing.

In addition to more classic research presentations, we explicitly invite 
the sharing of network-analytic tools and data, which can be presented 
in a especially dedicated high-density demonstration session). These 
demonstrations serve to introduce new software tools (open access tools 
privileged) for applying network analysis in communication science 
research, and open access data sets available to the research community 
(e.g., “big data” with network-analytic potential).

Submissions for a regular presentation should be original papers of 
approximately 4000 to 8000 words, which have not been published 
elsewhere. In an accompanying abstract of 150 words, they should 
emphasize the specific contribution of their paper to advancing network 
analytic research and theory in communications.

Submissions for the high-density demonstration session should provide 
extended abstracts (1000 to 1500 words) that introduce the data or tool 
presented. As far as applicable, these abstracts should also state the 
conditions of use of the presented tool or data for other researchers.

All submissions must be uploaded to 
https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=netcom2015 by January 11, 2015, 
with all identifying information removed from the manuscript or 
abstract. All contributions will be blindly peer-reviewed, and 
acceptance notifications will be sent out before the end of February 2015.

Registration for the preconference is open to both presenters and 
non-presenters and opens on January 15, 2015. Registration fees are 60 
USD for students (graduate, doctoral) and 100 USD for both faculty (PhD 
holders) and practitioners outside the academia. The preconference will 
take place on Thursday, May 21, 2015, at one of the two conference 
hotels of the 65th ICA Annual conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

For any direct inquiries regarding this preconference, please contact 
any of the following:

Wouter van Atteveldt, VU Amsterdam: (w.h.van.atteveldt /at/ vu.nl)

Christian Baden, Hebrew U Jerusalem: (c.baden /at/ mail.huji.ac.il)

Jana Diesner, UIUC: (jdiesner /at/ illinois.edu)







TENTATIVE PROGRAM



09:00 – 09:15 Welcome & introduction

09:15 – 10:30 Paper session 1 (3 papers, 25 min each: 15-20 min talk, 
10-5 min Q&A)

10:30 – 11:00 Break

11:00 – 12:15 High-density session (6-7 tool-/data-demonstrations, 10 
min each: 5 min talk, 5 min Q&A)

12:15 – 13:15 Lunch (off site)

13:15 – 14:30 Paper session 2 (3 papers, 25 min each: 15-20 min talk, 
10-5 min Q&A)

14:30 – 15:00 Coffee break

15:00 – 16:15 Paper session 3 (3 papers, 25 min each: 15-20 min talk, 
10-5 min Q&A)

16:15 – 17:00 Roundtable Discussion: Challenges and Future Directions



This preconference is kindly supported by

www.networkinstitute.org .

--
Dr. Christian Baden
Noah Mozes Department of Communication & Journalism
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Mount Scopus Campus
91905 Jerusalem, Israel
(c.baden /at/ mail.huji.ac.il)
+972-2-58-83213

Marie Curie Fellow:
Frame Justification and Resonance in Conflict-Related Discourse (RECORD)

INFOCORE Project Team, WP5-8:
(In)Forming Conflict Prevention, Response, and Resolution: The Role of 
Media in Violent Conflict

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