Social network analysis

Social network analysis (SNA) encompasses a large set of methodological, statistical, and theoretical approaches that are developed for the analysis of relational data. Since the subject of communication is relational by definition, SNA is gaining increasing importance to study the structure of communication infrastructure, content, actors, and processes. Subjects of analysis typically are the positions of specific nodes in a network, detection of generalized positions (e.g., opinion leaders), the overall structure of a network (e.g., density), tendencies of clustering of nodes in subsets such as cliques, as well as dynamic processes (e.g., selection and influence/diffusion). SNA allows to bridge the gap between micro‐ and macro‐level by analyzing the relation between specific local patterns and the emergence of complex structures. Hereby, visualization of network data in sociograms is an inherent part of analysis and for reporting results