What is Social Network Analysis?
Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a growing discipline that explores the formal and informal relationships that develop between people in organizations. SNA is capable of creating powerful visualizations of complex organizations. SNA also provides strong analytical tools to measure structural characteristics that impact critical organizational processes.
How SNA Works
Individuals in an organization or group are depicted as nodes.
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If a relationship exists between two individuals, the nodes are connected by an edge. This edge can be coded to show both the strength of a relationship and to differentiate between types of relationships.
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Nodes can also be coded to indicate individual attributes like preference, gender, experience, knowledge, etc.
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Powerful metrics are then used to learn about the structural characteristics of an organization that might influence critical processes or outcomes.
What do network diagrams look like?
Friends was a sitcom that aired on NBC in the United States from 1994 until 2004. The show portrayed the lives of 6 fictional characters as young adults in New York City.
This network diagram was constructed by recording each relationship shown or mentioned during Season 1 (1994-95) of Friends. Social Network Analysis is a methodology that depicts relationships. What better way to show the power of SNA than using data from the NBC sitcom Friends? |
School Network ExampleNetwork diagrams can map the informal and formal relationships in an organization. The relationships depicted in this network represent professional working connections between school staff.
Network diagrams are intuitive. This network diagram shows how separate departments within the school are internally well-connected. You might also notice that there are several well-connected individuals at the center of the network. Although the network diagrams are intuitive, researchers use many different analytical tools to truly understand what is happening within the organization. |
What type of measurements are possible?
Network MetricsA popular use of SNA is to identify central actors. Centrality is defined as an actor that is extensively involved in relationships with other actors in the network. Central actors tend to be more visible within the organization.
Through their relationships, central actors have greater access and control over resources and information. There are many different ways to measure the centrality of an actor. This network diagram measures 'betweenness centrality'- a metric that differentiates actors based on their ability to control the flow of resources within a network. |
Individual MetricsSNA can be used to differentiate between actors by measuring traits such as preference, gender, experience, or knowledge. This network differentiates between actors based on their technical knowledge using 1:1 devices in the classroom. If a school is trying to ensure the successful implementation of a 1:1 technology initiative, it would be useful to know which staff members have a good understanding of the initiative and their relative centrality within the full school network.
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