Social Network Analysis

Last Updated: 02/13/2023

For Moderators (Scroll Down)

Social Network Analysis & Online Discussion Interaction

• SNA Overview Part I (Length: 12:29)

• SNA Overview Part II (Length: 14:03)

• Different Interactivity Roles (Length: 4:30)

Social Network Analysis (SNA) examining interaction goes beyond interaction frequency, and numbers and learner-learner interaction, learner-content interaction, and learner-instructors interaction.  

It investigates interaction, clusters/subgroups, social relationships, and social structures via network, centrality, graph theory in how learners connect, and respond, how influential, prominent, and prestigious their roles are, and what resources flow they facilitate. It is a great way to understand students’, instructors’, moderators’ interactivity behaviors and the roles they play in online discussion networks and community. It is an effective way to understand the developments in online discussion networks and communities. In addition, it is a great method to assess group cohesiveness, knowledge-co-constructions. This interactivity information could help students, teachers, and moderators to enhance their online learning, teaching, and instructions. 

How to interpret your Social Network Analysis (SNA) results to enhance your discussion interactivity?

Is SNA performance related the discussion grade? It dependents the courses and the instructors. Check the course syllabi.

Roles: Conversation Starters; Influencers; Active Engagers: Degrees (In-Degree & Out-Degree)

• • In-Degree Tutorial (Length: 3:48)

  • Out-Degree Tutorial (Length: 3:17)

  • In-Degree is a number of people you receive responses from them. 

    • If you receive 5 for In-Degree in a class with 10 participants (9 students & 1 instructor), it means you receive responses from 5 out of 10 participants. Five are not the your total postings.

  • Out-Degree is a number of people that your reply to them.

    • If you reply to 6 participants in a class with 10  (9 students & 1 instructor), it means you reply to 6 out of 10 participants. Six are not the your total postings.

  • Conversation Starters

    • High level of In-Degree with few or none Out-Degree

  • Influencers

    • High level of In-Degree with some Out-Degree

  • Active Engagers

    • Few or none In-Degree with High level of Out-Degree

  • Is your In-Degree and Out-Degree ratio in balance or out of balance?

Suggestion: To improve and balance your In-Degree & Out-Degree engagement,

• • • Overall on In-Degree & Out-Degree: Respond to all questions raised to your postings. Frequently, we forget to do so. The moderators and I frequently ask you questions. Don’t forget to address them.

    • Conduct One-Many interaction rather than One-One.

    • In-Degree: Post solid, comprehensive, and thoughtful responses. Justify and elaborate your arguments. Your postings would attract more people to interact with you.

    • Out-Degree: Respond to different participants to diversify your interaction. 

• • Ratio

    • The ratio between In-Degree and Out-Degree.  Closer to 1 indicates having a better balance.

Posting Frequency Development Diagram

• • Posting Frequency Development: Alluvial Diagram (Length: 3:20)

  • To understand your posting frequency development from Lesson 2 or Module 1 to the last lesson/module.

  • Alluvial Diagram Example

Two-Way Communicators: Reciprocated Vertex Pair Ratio

• • Reciprocated Vertex Pair Ratio Tutorial (Length: 5:20)

  • Tend to engage in two-way communication 

    • It indicated the percentage of classmates you actually had a mutual communication on the topics discussed.

    • For example, A responds to B and B replays A.  The Reciprocated Vertex Pair Ratio would be 1.

    • Closer to 1 indicates higher interactivity.        

      • Suggestions: To improve your Reciprocated Vertex Pair Ratio

        • Respond to all questions raised to your postings.

        • Visit the discussion board more often.

Liaison Role (Betweenness Centrality)

• • Between Centrality Tutorial (Length: 7:00)

  • Higher Betweenness Centrality indicates one serves as a Liaison Role (bridge or gatekeeper) in our lesson discussion and is located in strategic positions can actively influence what information does or does not flow through the network.  

  • Interactive with ones how may participate less.

  • It is not necessary related to the number of your postings.  

  • What role do you play?  Ones can potentially have fewer connections but be located in a strategic position that provides them with a great deal of power/influence in the network. 

  • Suggestions:To improve your Liaison Role (Betweenness Centrality) power,

    • Read others’ postings and digest them, particularly interactive with the ones not actively participate in the discussions or interact with specific groups of people. Connect them to the class community. 

Transmitter Role (Closeness Centrality)

• • Closeness Centrality Tutorial (Length: 4:28)

  • Based on the premise that individuals in the network with the shortest paths to access other members of the network faster. It is necessary to connect all members but high Closeness has faster and shorter way to connect most of people.

  • Suggestions: To improve your Transmitter Role (Closeness Centrality),

    • Interact with the ones who are the key person in sub-networks or the ones less interactive.

    • Conduct One-Many interaction to diversify your interaction styles.

Prominent Role (Eigenvector Centrality)

• • Eigenvector Centrality Tutorial (Length: 5:07)

  • The degree to which a participant is connected to other active participants. Those who are tied to very central individuals would have higher centrality and are more prominent.

  • Suggestions: To improve your Prominent Role (Closeness Centrality),

    • Select carefully whom you would like to interact.  Interact with ones who have solid postings and participate interactively.  

    • Conduct quality postings by applying you critical thinking.  Classmates more likely to interact with you due to your comprehensive postings.

Prestigious Role: tend to hold good information & knowledge (PageRank)

• • PageRank Tutorial (Length: 4:35)

  • Counting the number & quality of links to a person to determine a rough estimate of how important the role one plays in network.

  • This is related to your cognitive learning.

  • The higher; the more prestige the person plays in discussion network.

  • Suggestions: To improve your Prestigious Role (PageRank Centrality),

    • Ensure every single posting is high quality with logical arguments, relevant resources, applied critical thinking analyses, and include asking propounding questions. In addition, make sure to justify your statements and opinions. Frequently, we present our statements and opinions without logical and relevant justifications and elaborations.

Cluster Role: Clustering Coefficient

• • Clustering Coefficient Tutorial (Length: 6:07)

    • Tend to connect to specific people. Tend to create a unified group with many internal connections but few connections leading out of the group.

    • Higher or lower is better is depended on your interactivity goal.

  • Suggestions: To improve your Cluster Role (Cluster Coefficient),

    • If preferred higher, interact with specific a few people. If preferred lower, interact with different people.

For Moderators

Different Interactivity Roles (Length: 4:30)

• Liaison Role (Betweenness Centrality)

  • Medium-High.  Ideally, it is better stay in medium-high level.

• Transmitter Role (Closeness Centrality) 

  •  Medium-High 

  • “Closeness Centrality” which indicates whether you connect to more classmates, even less active ones.

• Prominent Role (Eigenvector Centrality) 

  • Medium-High

• Prestigious Role (PageRank)

  • Medium

• Two-Way Communicator (Reciprocated Vertex Pair Ratio)

  • Medium-High

• Cluster Role (Clustering Coefficient)

  • Low