DREaM Event 2: Louise Cooke

An Introduction to Social Network Analysis

DREaM Workshop

October 2011

Louise Cooke

Senior Lecturer

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This Session

An introduction to Social Network Analysis (SNA)

Data collection, analysis and visualisation Example of SNA project Complete network surveys This afternoon we will review the survey

results.

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Learning objectives

To understand the meaning and potential uses of Social Network Analysis (SNA)

To introduce some core social network concepts and theories

To carry out a practical exercise analysing our own networks

To identify when and for what purposes SNA might be used in information science research.

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Fact finding

Has anyone used SNA in their research? Or plans to do so? What do you understand by SNA?

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Some Network Definitions (OED)

1. Work in which threads, wires or similar materials are arranged in the fashion of a net;

2. A complex collection or system of rivers, canals, railways or the like;

3. An interconnected chain or system of immaterial things (e.g. events);

4. A system of cables for the distribution of electricity;5. A nation-wide broadcasting company; 6. An inter-connected group of people;7. A series of linked computers to make possible

functions such as the transfer of data or the sharing of processing capabilities.

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What is a Network?

A set of dyadic ties all of the same type, among a set of actors (or nodes)

For example…

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What Is Social Network Analysis?

What is unique about SNA is that it focuses on relationships between entities rather than properties of entities.

There is an underlying perspective that “Structure Matters” and that many social phenomena can be better understood by taking dyadic and structural data into consideration.

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An example of a network diagram

Knowledge Exchange among EU Countries

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Source: www. Orgnet.comBased on data from 2003-4.

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A Growing Area of Interest

Popular cultureKevin BaconOnline social networking

Business practitionersNew consulting toolsKnowledge management

Academic studyMultiple fields e.g.

communication, epidemiology.

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History of Social Network Analysis

1736- Euler 1930s- Hawthorne studies 1940s Psychologists 1950s & 60s Anthropologists 1970s Rise of Sociologists

Small Worlds, Strength of weak ties

1980s Growth in computation 1990s Ideas spread

UCINET released, spread of network analysis to multiple fields, social capital, embedded ties

2000s Social networking as populist phenomenon.

Papers retrieved from Google Scholar search using “Social Network Analysis” in title, September 2011

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Key Social Network Theories

Small World Phenomenon Strength of Weak Ties Embeddedness Social Capital.

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Relations Among Persons

KinshipFather of, mother of

OtherBoss of, teacher ofFriend of

Cognitive/PerceptiveKnowsAware of what they know

AffectiveLikes, trusts

InteractionsGives advice to, fights

withCitesHas sex with

AffiliationsBelongs to same clubs

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Relations Among Organisations

As corporate entitiesRefer to, Buy from,

sell to, leases too, outsources to

Owns shares of, subsidiary of

Joint ventures, alliances

Regulates.

Via their membersPersonnel flowsInterlocking

directoratesPersonal friendshipsCo-memberships.

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Node Types

Persons Organizations Countries Animals Words Web pages Families Etc.

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Core concepts in SNA

Directed and undirected networks (for example, compare co-authorship with citation)

Paths, components and total connectivity Density and centrality

Degree centralityCloseness centralityBetweenness centrality

Cliques.

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SNA and Knowledge Management

Differences between formal and informal structures

Post-merger integration Impact on information and knowledge flows Identification of bottlenecks, information

brokers, boundary spanners, sub-groups, peripherals

Recognising Communities of Practice.

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Other Uses in Information Science

Citation analysis Internet data mining Technology diffusion and adoption Any others?

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Other Applications

Epidemiology Viral Marketing Internet data mining Diffusion of innovation and new ideas e.g.

political unrest Conflict Management Anti-terrorism and law Enforcement.

Data Collection

Questionnaire survey (or interview) Observations Using existing datasets, e.g. email

transactions, trade statistics, citation analysis etc.

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Software Tools for Analysis and Visualisation

UCINETAllows for the computational aspects of analysis, including

calculating various measures (e.g., centrality, cohesion, brokerage) among others, as well as hypothesis testing

NetDrawAllows for graphic representation of networks including relations

and attributes Has some analytic capabilities that partially overlap with UCINET

There are others, generally for particular nichesPajek (Better at computational analysis of really large networks)E-Net (analyzing ego networks)KeyPlayer (influencing or disrupting networks).

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A Practical Example: Research Networks - by University (1)

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Research Networks – by University (2)

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Case studies

Some other examples of the use of SNA

Some Ethical Issues

Data cannot usually be collected anonymously, but it can be presented anonymously

Relationship ties can be a sensitive issue! Accurate interpretation of the meaning behind

the data is key.

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Now please complete your questionnaire

Demographic data Knowledge and expertise Acquaintanceship ties Research ties

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References & useful sources of further information

www.analytictech.com (UCINET software)Cheuk, B (2007) SNA: Its application to facilitate knowledge transfer. Business

Information Review, 24 (3) 170-176.Cross, R & Parker, A (2004) The Hidden Power of Social Networks: How work really

gets done in organizations. Boston, Ma., Harvard University Press.DeJordy, R. (2006) Social Network Analysis. Research Methods Summer School,

University of Essex, July 2006.Hanneman, R.A. & Riddle, M. Introduction to Social Network Methods. Free internet

resource based on Ucinet at http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman/nettext/Johnson, B & Oppenheim, C (2007) How socially connected are citers to those that

they cite? Journal of Documentation, 63 (5) 609-637.Kilduff, M & Tsai, W (2003) Social Networks and Organizations. London, Sage.Orgnet.com Social Network Analysis software & services for organizations,

communities, and their consultants. http://www.orgnet.com/Otte, E & Rousseau, R (2002) SNA: a powerful strategy, also for the information

sciences. Journal of Information Science, 28 (6) 441-453.

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Summary of important points

SNA is used to analyse the relationship patterns between entities

It can be used to analyse networks of very different kinds (and not just those that we understand as ‘social’)

It is based on mathematical sociology and graph theory

In organisations, it can help us to diagnose and understand information and knowledge flows and bottlenecks.

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To follow…

Results of our survey

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Any Questions?