Should I do Social Network Analysis?

Network theories and methods have recently gained wide-spread attention. Graph visualizations look great and will easily grab the attention of any audience. However for those who are new to the field, there is a steep learning curve. Novices need to learn to master a variety of skills starting from network theory to systematic data collection, appropriate means to compute and visualize them and finally the challenge to link back the results of any analyses to their original research questions.

This flow chart is meant to help people with the hard decision whether or not it is worthwhile and feasible to engage with network analysis. You may also think of these questions as a simple way to test the quality of existing projects.

This is my first draft of this flow chart, so nothing is set in stone and I am happy to consider any criticism you leave in the comments.

To get a first idea of Social Network Analysis concepts, you may want to take a look at the Cheat Sheet: Social Network Analysis for Humanists.

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OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Marten Düring (June 29, 2015). Should I do Social Network Analysis? Digital Humanities LAB at CVCE powered by uni.lu. Retrieved November 10, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/nfu3


One thought on “Should I do Social Network Analysis?

  1. Pingback: Round-up for July, 2015 part two – ARLIS/NA Digital Humanities SIG

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