Network Analysis
What is a Network?
A network is a collection of object-like things that are connected.
Networks have two main components, nodes and ties (or links/edges)
- Nodes are Object-like things (Nouns)
- Examples of nodes: Students in a class, words in a novel, banks, concepts
- we're mostly concerned with students
- Nodes can have attributes (Gender, Noun etc)
- Examples of nodes: Students in a class, words in a novel, banks, concepts
- Ties/Links/Edges are Connections between nodes (Verbs)
- Examples include: Talked to each other, Are neighbors, Lent money, Sent text message…
- we study the ties between students talking to eachother
- Ties are Directional, Weighted, and Multiplex
- Examples include: Talked to each other, Are neighbors, Lent money, Sent text message…
Network Analysis
We use network analysis to study the students' interactions and how they contribute to their success in introductory physics
Social Networks and Modeling Instruction(MI)
Below are network plots depicting the change in students' social networks in two different environments (MI and Lecture). You can see that in the lecture class, the students' social networks remain largely unchanged while the students' social networks in MI grew.
Lecture Class
Beginning of Term
Lecture Class
End of term
MI Class
Beginning of Term
MI Class
End of Term
How is this done?
Publications on Network Analysis
Eric Brewe, Laird Kramer, and Vashti Sawtelle (2012, January 12). Investigating student communities with network analysis of interactions in a physics learning center. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8, 010101 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.8.010101
Jesper Bruun and Eric Brewe (2013, July 12). Talking and learning physics: Predicting future grades from network measures and Force Concept Inventory pretest scores. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 9, 020109 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020109
Eric A. Williams, Eric Brewe, Justyna P. Zwolak, and Remy Dou (2016, December 16). Understanding Centrality: Investigating Student Outcomes within a Classroom Social Network. Presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2015, College Park, MD, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/perc.2015.pr.089