Modelling and visualization of networks

Different characteristics of social networks. A, B, and C show varying centrality and density of networks;
panel D shows network closure, i.e., when two actors, tied to a common third actor, tend to also form a
direct tie between them. Panel E represents two actors with different attributes (e.g., organizational
affiliation, beliefs, gender, education) who tend to form ties. Panel F consists of two types of ties:
friendship (solid line) and dislike (dashed line). In this case, two actors being friends both dislike a
common third (or, similarly, two actors that dislike a common third tend to be friends).

Visual representation of social networks is important to understand the network data and convey the
result of the analysis.[47] Numerous methods of visualization for data produced by social network
analysis have been presented.[48][49][50] Many of the analytic software have modules for network
visualization. Exploration of the data is done through displaying nodes and ties in various layouts, and
attributing colors, size and other advanced properties to nodes. Visual representations of networks may
be a powerful method for conveying complex information, but care should be taken in interpreting node
and graph properties from visual displays alone, as they may misrepresent structural properties better
captured through quantitative analyses.[51]

Signed graphs can be used to illustrate good and bad relationships between humans. A positive edge
between two nodes denotes a positive relationship (friendship, alliance, dating) and a negative edge
between two nodes denotes a negative relationship (hatred, anger). Signed social network graphs can be
used to predict the future evolution of the graph. In signed social networks, there is the concept of
"balanced" and "unbalanced" cycles. A balanced cycle is defined as a cycle where the product of all the
signs are positive. According to balance theory, balanced graphs represent a group of people who are
unlikely to change their opinions of the other people in the group. Unbalanced graphs represent a group
of people who are very likely to change their opinions of the people in their group. For example, a group
of 3 people (A, B, and C) where A and B have a positive relationship, B and C have a positive relationship,
but C and A have a negative relationship is an unbalanced cycle. This group is very likely to morph into a
balanced cycle, such as one where B only has a good relationship with A, and both A and B have a
negative relationship with C. By using the concept of balanced and unbalanced cycles, the evolution of
signed social network graphs can be predicted.[52]

Especially when using social network analysis as a tool for facilitating change, different approaches of
participatory network mapping have proven useful. Here participants / interviewers provide network
data by actually mapping out the network (with pen and paper or digitally) during the data collection
session. An example of a pen-and-paper network mapping approach, which also includes the collection
of some actor attributes (perceived influence and goals of actors) is the * Net-map toolbox. One benefit
of this approach is that it allows researchers to collect qualitative data and ask clarifying questions while
the network data is collected.[53]

Social networking potential

Social Networking Potential (SNP) is a numeric coefficient, derived through algorithms[54][55] to

represent both the size of an individual's social network and their ability to influence that network. SNP
coefficients were first defined and used by Bob Gerstley in 2002. A closely related term is Alpha User,
defined as a person with a high SNP.

SNP coefficients have two primary functions:

The classification of individuals based on their social networking potential, and

The weighting of respondents in quantitative marketing research studies.

By calculating the SNP of respondents and by targeting High SNP respondents, the strength and
relevance of quantitative marketing research used to drive viral marketing strategies is enhanced.

Variables used to calculate an individual's SNP include but are not limited to: participation in Social
Networking activities, group memberships, leadership roles, recognition,
publication/editing/contributing to non-electronic media, publication/editing/contributing to electronic
media (websites, blogs), and frequency of past distribution of information within their network. The
acronym "SNP" and some of the first algorithms developed to quantify an individual's social networking
potential were described in the white paper "Advertising Research is Changing" (Gerstley, 2003) See Viral
Marketing.[56]

The first book[57] to discuss the commercial use of Alpha Users among mobile telecoms audiences was
3G Marketing by Ahonen, Kasper and Melkko in 2004. The first book to discuss Alpha Users more
generally in the context of social marketing intelligence was Communities Dominate Brands by Ahonen &
Moore in 2005. In 2012, Nicola Greco (UCL) presents at TEDx the Social Networking Potential as a
parallelism to the potential energy that users generate and companies should use, stating that "SNP is
the new asset that every company should aim to have".[58]

Practical applications
See also: Social network analysis in criminology

Social network analysis is used extensively in a wide range of applications and disciplines. Some common
network analysis applications include data aggregation and mining, network propagation modeling,
network modeling and sampling, user attribute and behavior analysis, community-maintained resource
support, location-based interaction analysis, social sharing and filtering, recommender systems
development, and link prediction and entity resolution.[59] In the private sector, businesses use social
network analysis to support activities such as customer interaction and analysis, information system
development analysis,[60] marketing, and business intelligence needs (see social media analytics). Some
public sector uses include development of leader engagement strategies, analysis of individual and
group engagement and media use, and community-based problem solving.

Longitudinal SNA in schools

Large numbers of researchers worldwide examine the social networks of children and adolescents. In
questionnaires, they list all classmates, students in the same grade, or schoolmates, asking: "who are
your best friends?". Students may sometimes nominate as many peers as they wish; other times, the
number of nominations is limited. Social network researchers have investigated similarities in friendship
networks. The similarity between friends was established as far back as classical antiquity.[61]
Resemblance is an important basis for the survival of friendships. Similarity in characteristics, attitudes,
or behaviors means that friends understand each other more quickly, have common interests to talk
about, know better where they stand with each other, and have more trust in each other.[62] As a result,
such relationships are more stable and valuable. Moreover, looking more alike makes young people more
confident and strengthens them in developing their identity.[63] Similarity in behavior can result from
two processes: selection and influence. These two processes can be distinguished using longitudinal
social network analysis in the R package SIENA (Simulation Investigation for Empirical Network Analyses),
developed by Tom Snijders and colleagues.[64] Longitudinal social network analysis became mainstream
after the publication of a special issue of the Journal of Research on Adolescence in 2013, edited by René
Veenstra and containing 15 empirical papers.[65]

Security applications

Social network analysis is also used in intelligence, counter-intelligence and law enforcement activities.
This technique allows the analysts to map covert organizations such as an espionage ring, an organized
crime family or a street gang. The National Security Agency (NSA) uses its electronic surveillance
programs to generate the data needed to perform this type of analysis on terrorist cells and other
networks deemed relevant to national security. The NSA looks up to three nodes deep during this
network analysis.[66] After the initial mapping of the social network is complete, analysis is performed
to determine the structure of the network and determine, for example, the leaders within the network.
[67] This allows military or law enforcement assets to launch capture-or-kill decapitation attacks on the
high-value targets in leadership positions to disrupt the functioning of the network. The NSA has been
performing social network analysis on call detail records (CDRs), also known as metadata, since shortly
after the September 11 attacks.[68][69]

Textual analysis applications

Large textual corpora can be turned into networks and then analysed with the method of social network
analysis. In these networks, the nodes are Social Actors, and the links are Actions. The extraction of
these networks can be automated by using parsers. The resulting networks, which can contain
thousands of nodes, are then analysed by using tools from network theory to identify the key actors, the
key communities or parties, and general properties such as robustness or structural stability of the
overall network, or centrality of certain nodes.[70] This automates the approach introduced by
Quantitative Narrative Analysis,[71] whereby subject-verb-object triplets are identified with pairs of
actors linked by an action, or pairs formed by actor-object.[72]

Narrative network of US Elections 2012[72]

In other approaches, textual analysis is carried out considering the network of words co-occurring in a
text. In these networks, nodes are words and links among them are weighted based on their frequency
of co-occurrence (within a specific maximum range).

Internet applications

Social network analysis has also been applied to understanding online behavior by individuals,
organizations, and between websites.[17] Hyperlink analysis can be used to analyze the connections
between websites or webpages to examine how information flows as individuals navigate the web.[73]
The connections between organizations has been analyzed via hyperlink analysis to examine which
organizations within an issue community.[74]

Netocracy

Another concept that has emerged from this connection between social network theory and the Internet
is the concept of netocracy, where several authors have emerged studying the correlation between the
extended use of online social networks, and changes in social power dynamics.[75]
Social media internet applications

Social network analysis has been applied to social media as a tool to understand behavior between
individuals or organizations through their linkages on social media websites such as Twitter and
Facebook.[76]

In computer-supported collaborative learning

One of the most current methods of the application of SNA is to the study of computer-supported
collaborative learning (CSCL). When applied to CSCL, SNA is used to help understand how learners
collaborate in terms of amount, frequency, and length, as well as the quality, topic, and strategies of
communication.[77] Additionally, SNA can focus on specific aspects of the network connection, or the
entire network as a whole. It uses graphical representations, written representations, and data
representations to help examine the connections within a CSCL network.[77] When applying SNA to a
CSCL environment the interactions of the participants are treated as a social network. The focus of the
analysis is on the "connections" made among the participants – how they interact and communicate – as
opposed to how each participant behaved on his or her own.

Key terms

There are several key terms associated with social network analysis research in computer-supported
collaborative learning such as: density, centrality, indegree, outdegree, and sociogram.

Density refers to the "connections" between participants. Density is defined as the number of
connections a participant has, divided by the total possible connections a participant could have. For
example, if there are 20 people participating, each person could potentially connect to 19 other people.
A density of 100% (19/19) is the greatest density in the system. A density of 5% indicates there is only 1
of 19 possible connections.[77]

Centrality focuses on the behavior of individual participants within a network. It measures the extent to
which an individual interacts with other individuals in the network. The more an individual connects to
others in a network, the greater their centrality in the network.[77][13]

In-degree and out-degree variables are related to centrality.

In-degree centrality concentrates on a specific individual as the point of focus; centrality of all other
individuals is based on their relation to the focal point of the "in-degree" individual.[77]

Out-degree is a measure of centrality that still focuses on a single individual, but the analytic is
concerned with the out-going interactions of the individual; the measure of out-degree centrality is how
many times the focus point individual interacts with others.[77][13]

A sociogram is a visualization with defined boundaries of connections in the network. For example, a
sociogram which shows out-degree centrality points for Participant A would illustrate all outgoing
connections Participant A made in the studied network.[77]

Unique capabilities

Researchers employ social network analysis in the study of computer-supported collaborative learning in
part due to the unique capabilities it offers. This particular method allows the study of interaction
patterns within a networked learning community and can help illustrate the extent of the participants'
interactions with the other members of the group.[77] The graphics created using SNA tools provide
visualizations of the connections among participants and the strategies used to communicate within the
group. Some authors also suggest that SNA provides a method of easily analyzing changes in
participatory patterns of members over time.[78]

A number of research studies have applied SNA to CSCL across a variety of contexts. The findings include
the correlation between a network's density and the teacher's presence,[77] a greater regard for the
recommendations of "central" participants,[79] infrequency of cross-gender interaction in a network,
[80] and the relatively small role played by an instructor in an asynchronous learning network.[81]

Other methods used alongside SNA

Although many studies have demonstrated the value of social network analysis within the computer-
supported collaborative learning field,[77] researchers have suggested that SNA by itself is not enough
for achieving a full understanding of CSCL. The complexity of the interaction processes and the myriad
sources of data make it difficult for SNA to provide an in-depth analysis of CSCL.[82] Researchers indicate
that SNA needs to be complemented with other methods of analysis to form a more accurate picture of
collaborative learning experiences.[83]

A number of research studies have combined other types of analysis with SNA in the study of CSCL. This
can be referred to as a multi-method approach or data triangulation, which will lead to an increase of
evaluation reliability in CSCL studies.

Qualitative method – The principles of qualitative case study research constitute a solid framework for
the integration of SNA methods in the study of CSCL experiences.[84]
Ethnographic data such as student questionnaires and interviews and classroom non-participant
observations[83]

Case studies: comprehensively study particular CSCL situations and relate findings to general
schemes[83]

Content analysis: offers information about the content of the communication among members[83]

Quantitative method – This includes simple descriptive statistical analyses on occurrences to identify
particular attitudes of group members who have not been able to be tracked via SNA in order to detect
general tendencies.

Computer log files: provide automatic data on how collaborative tools are used by learners[83]

Multidimensional scaling (MDS): charts similarities among actors, so that more similar input data is
closer together[83]

Software tools: QUEST, SAMSA (System for Adjacency Matrix and Sociogram-based Analysis), and
Nud*IST[83]