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© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Chapter 21
Application of Network
Analysis to Conversations
of Professional
Software Designers
An Exploratory Study
Sian Joel-Edgar
University of Exeter Business School
Paul Rodgers
Northumbria University
21.1 INTRODUCTION
e concept of network analysis “encompasses theories, models, and applications that are
expressed in terms of relational concepts or processes. e unit of analysis in network
analysis is not the individual, but an entity consisting of a collection of individuals and
the linkages” (Wasserman and Faust, 1994). Network analysis looks at the connections
between actors and how such connections fo