ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we describe previous sociolinguistic network research, structuring the discussion around six dominant guiding principles and themes. In each case, we give detailed descriptions of the network data, methods, and conclusions in representative or influential studies. We then identify the most common conclusions about the relationship between language and social network characteristics. Finally, we discuss what we see as some important disadvantages inherent to the usual types of network data and methods in sociolinguistic research in order to motivate the bipartite network methods used in the Raleigh study, which is the subject of the following chapters.
