synopsis

Social Network Analysis is a way of displaying the people or groups in a network and their relationship to one another. Lyneve describes SNA in a different way where she says that it "involves the mapping and measuring of these normally invsible relationships between people, providing an organizational X-ray." Beth describes SNA in a more comical sort of way where she compares the diagram given to us to the idea of five dgrees of seperation. In my mind I always related this theory to being closely seperated from any normal person. But Beth relates it to being seprated by five degrees from a famous person, as if everyone else isn't good enough to be connected to (Maybe it's just me, but I found it funny). When creating an SNA it is important to determine the importance of a node. It is made clear in this introduction that this does not necessarily mean to create and display the hierarchy. They actually call this centrality. This is the node who the other nodes in the network rely the most heavily on or whose presence is the most effective.

They then go on to explain the benefits of different location and how to measure the networks activity. Degrees, or rather the concept of it, is what is used to measure the number of direct connection a node has. Being between (betweenness) two groups is both beneficial and sometimes not. In this particular network the person with a crucial between location is Heather, who if taken away would cut off the connection two other nodes have with one another. The most interesting point that I thought was made was when peripheral players such as Ike and Jane in the network diplayed are not over looked. People such as these may not play an important role in this particular network, but may be very crucial players in others giving this network another outside resource and connection.

This analysis is just an extremely complex way to monitor and make a mapping of people in a group and their relationship to one another. Then as an extra added feature somehow mathematically measure it all.