The conceptual foundations of Network-Based Diffusion Analysis: choosing networks and interpreting results

Network-based diffusion analysis (NBDA) is a statistical technique for detecting the social transmission of behavioural innovations in groups of animals, including humans. The strength of social transmission is inferred from the extent to which the diffusion (spread) of the innovation follows a social network. NBDA can have two goals: a) to establish whether social transmission is occurring and how strong its effects are; and/or b) to establish the typical pathways of information transfer. The technique has been used in a range of taxa, including primates, cetaceans, birds and fish, using a range of different types of network.  Here I investigate the conceptual underpinnings of NBDA, in order to establish the meaning of results using different networks. I develop a model of the social transmission process whereby observation of performance of the behaviour offers a naïve individual the opportunity to learn that behaviour pattern for themselves. I then establish how NBDAs using different networks relate to this underlying process, and thus how we can interpret the results of each. My analysis shows that different network or networks are appropriate depending on the specific goal or goals of the study, and establishes how the parameter estimates yielded from an NBDA can be interpreted for different networks.