mathematics

Tom Snijders

Tom Snijders is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tom Snijders rather than just read about it. In short: Thomas Augustinus Benedictus Snijders, often simplified as Tom Snijders (born 26 September 1949) is professor of Statistics in the Social Sciences at Nuffield College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford (since 1 October 2006). He is also professor of Methodology at the University of Groningen, a position he has held for more than twenty years.

Key takeaways

Tom Snijders belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tom Snijders to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tom Snijders from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Thomas Augustinus Benedictus Snijders, often simplified as Tom Snijders (born 26 September 1949) is professor of Statistics in the Social Sciences at Nuffield College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford (since 1 October 2006). He is also professor of Methodology at the University of Groningen, a position he has held for more than twenty years.

Career Tom Snijders was born in Tilburg, a son of Jan Snijders, professor of Psychology at Groningen University from 1949 to 1980, and Nan Snijders-Oomen, an internationally well-known child psychologist (author of the SON nonverbal intelligence test, 1943, 1978, 1991). Snijders grew up in the province of Groningen, in the northern part of the Netherlands. He was awarded a cum laude Ph.D. at the University of Groningen in mathematics, specializing in mathematical statistics, for his thesis Asymptotic optimality theory for testing problems with restricted alternatives. His thesis advisor was Willem Schaafsma. Since 1985 he worked as a professor of various forms of mathematics serving social science. He was part-time professor of Mathematical Sociology at Utrecht University from 1989-1992 and is an honorary senior fellow of the University of Melbourne in Australia. Stockholm University made him an honorary doctor in 2005, as did Paris Dauphine University in 2011. In 2007 Snijders became correspondent of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2008 Snijders was awarded the Order of Knight of the Netherlands Lion. Many of his former Ph.D. students and postdocs have found academic positions and are at the forefront of their terrain, including Roel Bosker, Marijtje van Duijn, Roger Leenders, Chris Snijders, Albertine J. (Tineke) Oldehinkel, Rafael Wittek, René Veenstra, Marcel van Assen, Christian Steglich, Miranda Lubbers, Per Block, and Nynke Niezink.

Social networks Snijders is a prominent researcher in the field of statistic methods in behavioural and social sciences. In 1998, together with others, he created Stocnet, an open software system for the advanced statistical analysis of social networks. Snijders is working especially in social network analysis: statistical methods for analysing social networks and in network evolution, in social science, mathematical sociology and mathematical response theory, and also in multilevel models analysis, about which he wrote a textbook, titled Multilevel Analysis. An Introduction to Basic and Advanced Multilevel Modeling (1999). Apart from this he developed new statistical methods for social science applications, often in combination with the development of computer software to implement these methods. Together with professor Patrick Doreian of the University of Pittsburgh Tom Snijders edited the international scientific journal Social networks. An international journal of structural analysis.

Sources and links Nuffield College, Sociology Group University of Groningen, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences Social Network Analysis page of Tom Snijders Social networks. An international journal of structural analysis Website of Tom Snijders with a full list of functions, publications and interests Knipscheer, Corn.J.: XIX generaties Oome- Oomen- Oomens- Oomes. Breda, 1984. Snijders, Jan: Snijders-Oomen. Een levens- en familieverhaal. Den Haag, 1997.

Notes

External links Tom Snijders at the Mathematics Genealogy Project

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tom Snijders

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tom Snijders claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tom Snijders before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tom Snijders ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tom Snijders

In research: Tom Snijders appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tom Snijders in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tom Snijders is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1949 births, Academic staff of Utrecht University, Academic staff of the University of Groningen, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tom Snijders outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tom Snijders in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tom Snijders means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tom Snijders out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tom Snijders in simple terms?

Why does Tom Snijders matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tom Snijders?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tom Snijders.