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Review
. 2023 Feb 27;18(2):e0282340.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282340. eCollection 2023.

Sociometric network analysis in illicit drugs research: A scoping review

Naomi Zakimi  1 , Alissa Greer  1 , Martin Bouchard  1 , Arshpreet Dhillon  1 , Alison Ritter  2
Affiliations
Review

Sociometric network analysis in illicit drugs research: A scoping review

Naomi Zakimi et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Sociometric or whole network analysis, a method used to analyze relational patterns among social actors, emphasizes the role of social structure in shaping behaviour. Such method has been applied to many aspects of illicit drug research, including in the areas of public health, epidemiology, and criminology. Previous reviews about social networks and drugs have lacked a focus on the use of sociometric network analysis for illicit drugs research across disciplines. The current scoping review aimed to provide an overview of the sociometric network analysis methods used in illicit drugs research and to assess how such methods could be used for future research.

Methods: A systematic search of six databases (Web of Science, ProQuest Sociology Collection, Political Science Complete, PubMed, Criminal Justice Abstracts, and PsycINFO) returned 72 relevant studies that met the inclusion criteria. To be included, studies had to mention illicit drugs and use whole social network analysis as one of their methods. Studies were summarized quantitatively and qualitatively using a data-charting form and a description of the studies' main topics.

Results: Sociometric network analysis in illicit drugs research has grown in popularity in the last decade, using mostly descriptive network metrics, such as degree centrality (72.2%) and density (44.4%). Studies were found to belong to three study domains. The first, drug crimes investigated network resilience and collaboration patterns in drug trafficking networks. The second domain, public health, focused on the social networks and social support of people who use drugs. Finally, the third domain focused on the collaboration networks of policy, law enforcement, and service providers.

Conclusion: Future illicit drugs research using whole network SNA should include more diverse data sources and samples, incorporate mixed and qualitative methods, and apply social network analysis to study drug policy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. PRISMA 2009 flow diagram.
Study selection process. From: Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, The PRISMA Group (2009). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Med 6(7): e1000097. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed1000097 For more information, visit www.prisma-statement.org.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Publication types

Grants and funding

This work was supported by The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) under Grant #435-2021-0749 (AG). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.