Today I’m taking a slightly different tack. I’m recommending software. This allows researchers and managers to go about mapping social networks with NodeXL. The good news is that this is software that is an add-on to Excel. (Sadly it only works with the Windows version). It is easy to use, and if you already know Excel, you can be mapping a social network in a very short period of time. [2021 comment. Now I would probably recommend R as a more general software. NodeXL still works well for people who like an Excel base. There is a free version — although they are very keen to upsell to NodeXLPro].
Social Networks Are Best Viewed Visually
Social networks are often best viewed visually. You want to see how people connect up and this software allows you to easily picture the network.
All you really need to start is a simple listing of the nodes in the network. The nodes are the people. We can describe their names, give them a size (perhaps based upon their activity), or assign them a node color (perhaps based upon their group membership).
This listing of nodes might look something like this:
Node Name Colour Size
1 Frank Green 12 points
2 Amber Orange 14 points
3 Sylvia Red 8 points
etc…
You only need one more list. This is the edges (connections) between the nodes. You can easily assign each edge a weight which lets higher weights represent deeper connections. Frank is best friends with Amber (say weight 10), but only a mild acquaintance of Sylvia (weight 2)
Node Node EdgeWeight
1 2 10
1 3 2
etc….
Mapping Social Networks With NodeXL
With just these inputs you can create wonderful pictures of the network. You can add a surprising amount of detail to describe the strength of connection, add names/descriptors, or highlight differences between people. Soon you will have a fully visualized network that looks wonderful. NodeXL will even supply you with metrics describing the entire network, such as Density, and each node’s place in the network, such as Betweenness Centrality. You can even add in photographs if you have pictures of Frank and his friends.
It is great, and free, software so why not give it a go.
For more on social network analysis see here, here, and here.
Visit: NodeXL: Network Overviews, Discovery and Eploration for Excel, Basic (Free) Version Here, accessed Dec 14th 2021