Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL

Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL

by Derek Hansen, Ben Shneiderman, Marc A. Smith
Released September 2010
Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN: 9780123822307

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Book description

Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL offers backgrounds in information studies, computer science, and sociology. This book is divided into three parts: analyzing social media, NodeXL tutorial, and social-media network analysis case studies.

Part I provides background in the history and concepts of social media and social networks. Also included here is social network analysis, which flows from measuring, to mapping, and modeling collections of connections. The next part focuses on the detailed operation of the free and open-source NodeXL extension of Microsoft Excel, which is used in all exercises throughout this book. In the final part, each chapter presents one form of social media, such as e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and Youtube. In addition, there are descriptions of each system, the nature of networks when people interact, and types of analysis for identifying people, documents, groups, and events.

  • Walks you through NodeXL, while explaining the theory and development behind each step, providing takeaways that can apply to any SNA
  • Demonstrates how visual analytics research can be applied to SNA tools for the mass market
  • Includes case studies from researchers who use NodeXL on popular networks like email, Facebook, Twitter, and wikis
  • Download companion materials and resources at https://nodexl.codeplex.com/documentation

Table of contents

  1. Cover page
  2. Content
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. About the Authors
  9. Contributors
  10. PART I. Getting Started with Analyzing Social Media Networks
    1. Chapter 1. Introduction to Social Media and Social Networks
      1. Outline
      2. 1.1. Introduction
      3. 1.2. A Historical Perspective
      4. 1.3. The Rise of Social Media as Consumer Applications
      5. 1.4. Individual Contributions Generate Public Wealth
      6. 1.5. Who Should Read this Book
      7. 1.6. Applying Social Media to National Priorities
      8. 1.7. Worldwide Efforts
      9. 1.8. Practitioner's Summary
      10. 1.9. Researcher's Agenda
      11. Additional Resources
    2. Chapter 2. Social Media
      1. Outline
      2. 2.1. Introduction
      3. 2.2. Social Media Defined
      4. 2.3. Social Media Design Framework
      5. 2.4. Social Media Examples
      6. 2.5. Practitioner's Summary
      7. 2.6. Researcher's Agenda
      8. Additional Resources
    3. Chapter 3. Social Network Analysis
      1. Outline
      2. 3.1. Introduction
      3. 3.2. The Network Perspective
      4. 3.3. Types of Networks
      5. 3.4. The Network Analysis Research and Practitioner Landscape
      6. 3.5. Network Analysis Metrics
      7. 3.6. Social Networks in the Era of Abundant Computation
      8. 3.7. The Era of Abundant Social Networks: From the Desktop to Your Pocket
      9. 3.8. Tools for Network Analysis
      10. 3.9. Node-link Diagrams: Visually Mapping Social Networks
      11. 3.10. Common Network Analysis Questions Applied to Social Media
      12. 3.11. Practitioner's Summary
      13. 3.12. Researcher's Agenda
      14. Additional Resources
  11. PART II. NodeXL Tutorial: Learning by Doing
    1. Chapter 4. Getting Started with NodeXL, Layout, Visual Design, and Labeling
      1. Outline
      2. 4.1. Introduction
      3. 4.2. Downloading and Installing NodeXL
      4. 4.3. Getting Started with NodeXL
      5. 4.4. Layout: Arranging Vertices in the Graph Pane
      6. 4.5. Visual Design: Making Network Displays Meaningful
      7. 4.6. Labeling: Adding Text Labels to Vertices and Edges
      8. 4.7. Practitioner's Summary
      9. 4.8. Researcher's Agenda
      10. NodeXL Papers
    2. Chapter 5. Calculating and Visualizing Network Metrics
      1. Outline
      2. 5.1. Introduction
      3. 5.2. Kite Network Example
      4. 5.3. Computing Graph Metrics
      5. 5.4. Les Misérables Co-appearance Network
      6. 5.5. Practitioner's Summary
      7. 5.6. Researcher's Agenda
    3. Chapter 6. Preparing Data and Filtering
      1. Outline
      2. 6.1. Introduction
      3. 6.2. Serious Eats Network Example
      4. 6.3. Filtering to Reduce Clutter and Reveal Important Features
      5. 6.4. Putting It All Together
      6. 6.5. Practitioner's Summary
      7. 6.6. Researcher's Agenda
    4. Chapter 7. Clustering and Grouping
      1. Outline
      2. 7.1. Introduction
      3. 7.2. The 2007 Senate Voting Analysis
      4. 7.3. Les Misérables Character Clusters
      5. 7.4. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Lobbying Coalition Network
      6. 7.5. Practitioner's Summary
      7. 7.6. Researcher's Agenda
      8. Additional Resources
  12. PART III. Social Media Network Analysis Case Studies
    1. Chapter 8. Email: The Lifeblood of Modern Communication
      1. Outline
      2. 8.1. Introduction
      3. 8.2. History and Definition of Email
      4. 8.3. Email Networks
      5. 8.4. What Questions can be Answered by Analyzing Email Networks?
      6. 8.5. Working with Email Data
      7. 8.6. Cleaning Email Data in NodeXL
      8. 8.7. Analyzing Personal Email Networks
      9. 8.8. Creating a Living Org-chart with an Organizational Email Network
      10. 8.9. Historical and Legal Analysis of Enron Email
      11. 8.10. Practitioner's Summary
      12. 8.11. Researcher's Agenda
    2. Chapter 9. Thread Networks
      1. Outline
      2. 9.1. Introduction
      3. 9.2. History and Definition of Threaded Conversation
      4. 9.3. What Questions can be Asked
      5. 9.4. Threaded Conversation Networks
      6. 9.5. Analyzing a Technical Support Email List: CCS-D
      7. 9.6. Finding a New Community Administrator for the ABC-D Email List
      8. 9.7. Understanding Groups at Ravelry
      9. 9.8. Practitioner's Summary
      10. 9.9. Researcher's Agenda
    3. Chapter 10. Twitter
      1. Outline
      2. 10.1. Introduction
      3. 10.2. The Nuts and Bolts of Twitter
      4. 10.3. Networks in Twitter
      5. 10.4. Acquiring Data
      6. 10.5. Discovery with Twitter
      7. 10.6. Practitioner's Summary
      8. 10.7. Researcher's Agenda
      9. Additional Resources
    4. Chapter 11. Visualizing and Interpreting Facebook Networks
      1. Outline
      2. 11.1. Introduction to Facebook: the World's Social Graph
      3. 11.2. The History of Facebook
      4. 11.3. Why Map a Facebook Network?
      5. 11.4. What Kind of Network is a Facebook Friendship Network?
      6. 11.5. Getting your Data into Nodexl
      7. 11.6. Creating a Basic Facebook Visualization
      8. 11.7. Ordered and Nonordered Data and Attributes
      9. 11.8. Friend Wheel to Pinwheel: a Facebook Visualization the Nodexl Way
      10. 11.9. Practitioner's Summary
      11. 11.10. Researcher's Agenda
      12. Additional Resources
    5. Chapter 12. WWW Hyperlink Networks
      1. Outline
      2. 12.1. Introduction
      3. 12.2. Hyperlink Networks
      4. 12.3. The VOSON Data Provider
      5. 12.4. Example 1: Who Links to my Organization's Web Site?
      6. 12.5. Example 2: What is the Hyperlink Network of this Field/Industry/Sector?
      7. 12.6. Blogs, Temporal Changes, and Network Flow
      8. 12.7. Practitioner's Summary
      9. 12.8. Researcher's Agenda
    6. Chapter 13. Flickr
      1. Outline
      2. 13.1. Introduction
      3. 13.2. Flickr Social Media
      4. 13.3. Flickr Networks
      5. 13.4. What Questions can be Answered by Analyzing Flickr Networks?
      6. 13.5. Importing Flickr Data into NodeXL
      7. 13.6. Working with the Flickr Data
      8. 13.7. Analyzing Flickr Networks with NodeXL
      9. 13.8. Practitioner's Summary
      10. 13.8.1. Data Preparation
      11. 13.9. Researcher's Agenda
    7. Chapter 14. YouTube
      1. Outline
      2. 14.1. Introduction
      3. 14.2. What is YouTube?
      4. 14.3. YouTube's Structure
      5. 14.4. Networks in YouTube
      6. 14.5. Hubs, Groups, and Layers: What Questions Can Social Network Analysis of YouTube Answer?
      7. 14.6. Importing YouTube Data into Nodexl
      8. 14.7. Preparing YouTube Network Data
      9. 14.8. Analyzing YouTube Networks
      10. 14.9. Practitioner's Summary
      11. 14.10. Researcher's Agenda
    8. Chapter 15. Wiki Networks
      1. Outline
      2. 15.1. Introduction
      3. 15.2. Key Features of Wiki Systems
      4. 15.3. Wiki Networks from Edit Activity
      5. 15.4. Identifying Different Types of Editors within a Wiki Project
      6. 15.5. NodeXL Visualization Strategies for Revealing Distinct User Types
      7. 15.6. Identifying High-Quality Contributors in Article Talk Pages
      8. 15.7. Navigating Lostpedia: Using NodeXL to Reveal the Large-Scale Collaborative Structure of Wiki Systems
      9. 15.8. Data Collection from Wiki Systems
      10. 15.9. Practitioner's Summary
      11. 15.10. Researcher's Agenda
  13. APPENDIX. NodeXL for Programmers
    1. A.1. Importing Custom Graph Data
    2. A.2. Custom Graphing Applications
  14. Index

Product information

  • Title: Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL
  • Author(s): Derek Hansen, Ben Shneiderman, Marc A. Smith
  • Release date: September 2010
  • Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
  • ISBN: 9780123822307