LIBRARY
GLO 410: Systems Thinking: Chapter 3: Social Network Analysis
This guide for Systems Thinking provides students with links to references from the textbook Systems Concepts in Action in addition to other resources to help develop systemic thinkers.
Social Network Analysis
"Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a set of techniques for analyzing social systems. It can be used to understand networks and their participants, that is, to grasp and describe the organization of the network as a whole as well as the position of individual actors. It offers a variety of techniques for measuring, visualizing, and simulating relationships and allows analyzing these relationships in visual as well as mathematical terms."-Systems Concepts in Action, Chapter 3
eBooks/ Articles
- Introduction to Social Networks
Hanneman, Robert A. Riddle, Mark. 2005. "Introduces many of the basics of formal approaches to the analysis of social networks." - The SAGE handbook of social network analysis
Scott, John. Carrington, Peter J. 2011. Print, HM741 .S34 2011. "Instead of consulting a variety of books and journal articles, this Handbook, edited by genuine leaders in the field, is a one-stop guide to social network analysis that will be used by readers for decades to come." - Social Network Analysis: An Introduction
This article breaks down the components of SNA in a highly readable format. - What Is Social Network Analysis?
This quick guide offers a general introduction to SNA.
Intro to SNA
Web Resources
- Monitoring and Evaluation News
A news service focusing on developments in monitoring and evaluation methods relevant to development programmes with social development objectives. - International Network for Social Network Analsysis
"INSNA is the professional association for researchers interested in social network analysis." - Visone
"Visone is a long-term research project (team), in which models and algorithms to integrate and advance the analysis and visualization of social networks are being developed." - Gephi
A free resource you can use to create SNA models! "Gephi is the leading visualization and exploration software for all kinds of graphs and networks. Gephi is open-source and free. Runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux."
Examples/ Case Studies
- Network of Thrones
This SNA maps the relationships in the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones" and projects the relevance of each character to the plot. - Building Smart Communities through Network Weaving
This paper investigates building sustainable communities through improving their connectivity – internally and externally – using network ties to create economic opportunities. - Applications of social network analysis for building community disaster resilience : workshop summary
Magsino, Samanta L. 2009.
"In response to a request by the Department of Homeland Security, the National Research Council formed an ad hoc committee to organize a two-day workshop to discuss the use of social network analysis (SNA) for the purpose of building community disaster resilience."