Social network analysis
analysis of social structures using network and graph theory
Social network analysis (SNA) is the process of investigating social structures through the use of networks and graph theory. It characterizes networked structures in terms of nodes (individual actors, people, or things within the network) and the ties, edges, or links (relationships or interactions) that connect them. Examples of social structures commonly visualized through social network analysis include social media networks, meme proliferation, information circulation, friendship and acquaintance networks, business networks, knowledge networks, difficult working relationships, collaboration graphs, kinship, disease transmission, and sexual relationships. These networks are often visualized through sociograms in which nodes are represented as points and ties are represented as lines. These visualizations provide a means of qualitatively assessing networks by varying the visual representation of their nodes and edges to reflect attributes of interest.
Social network analysis has emerged as a key technique in modern sociology. It has also gained significant popularity in the following: anthropology, biology, demography, communication studies, economics, geography, agriculture, history, information science, organizational studies, physics, political science, public health, social psychology, development studies, sociolinguistics, and computer science, education and distance education research, and is now commonly available as a consumer tool (see the list of SNA software).
History
Social network analysis has its theoretical roots in the work of early sociologists such as Georg Simmel and Émile Durkheim, who wrote about the importance of studying patterns of relationships that connect social actors. Social scientists have used the concept of "social networks" since early in the 20th century to connote complex sets of relationships between members of social systems at all scales, from interpersonal to international.
In 1934 Jacob Moreno and Helen Jennings introduced basic analytical methods.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Social network analysis” is analysis of social structures using network and graph theory. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Social, network and analysis, not as a finished interpretation.
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This entry incorporates text from “Social network analysis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.