What is Social Network Analysis?
Social network analysis is focused on uncovering the patterning of people's interaction. Network analysis is based on the intuitive notion that the patterns of social structure are important features of the lives of the individuals who display them. Network analysts believe that how an individual lives depends in large part on how that individual is tied into the larger web of social connections. Many believe, moreover, that the success or failure of societies and organizations often depends on the patterning of their internal structure.
Social network analysis has found important applications in organizational behavior, inter-organizational relations, the spread of contagious diseases, mental health, social support, the diffusion of information and animal social organization. Today it has become an international effort with its own professional organizations, textbooks, journals, research centers, training centers and computer programs designed specifically to facilitate the analysis of structural data.
Featured Publication
Connections (ISSN 0226-1776) is the official journal of the International Network for Social Network Analysis. The emphasis of the publication is to reflect the ever-growing and continually expanding community of scholars using network analytic techniques. Connections publishes original empirical, theoretical, and methodological articles, as well as critical reviews dealing with applications of social network analysis. Connections also provides an outlet for sharing news about social network concepts and techniques and new tools for research.
Published articles span many disciplines and domains including: Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Communication, Economics, Organizational Behavior, Knowledge Management, Marketing, Social Psychology, Mathematics, Public Health, Medicine, Computer Science, and Policy.