November 8, 2011: University of Manchester, NodeXL SNA / Social Media Workshop

05NovMay 7, 2015 By Marc Smith

Methodologies for Web and Social Media Data Analysis in Social Science and Policy Research

CCSR Short Course
Social Media Network Analysis using NodeXL

November 9th 9.00 am – 5.30 pm.

Marc Smith
Social Media Research Foundation
http://www.smrfoundation.org

Course Summary: Networks are everywhere in the natural and social world. New tools are making the task of getting, processing, measuring, visualizing and gaining insights from network data sets easier than ever before. The rise of social media offers a new and abundant source of network data. The NodeXL project (http://www.codeplex.com/nodexl) from the Social Media Research Foundation (http://www.smrfoundation.org) offers a free and open path to network overview, discovery and exploration within the context of the familiar Excel spreadsheet. In this short course we will introduce the NodeXL application and review the landscape of networks, social networks, and social media networks. Using the tool, non-programmers can quickly select a network of interest from various social media and other data sources. Twitter, flickr, YouTube, email, the World Wide Web, and Facebook data can be quickly imported into NodeXL. Networks can then be analyzed and visualized using tools similar to those used to create a pie chart or line graph [1]. As the challenge and cost of network acquisition and analysis drops, abundant data sets are being generated that document the range of variation of diverse sources of social media. How many different kinds of Twitter hashtags exist? Using snapshots of hundreds of hashtags collected over a year, it is now possible to build rough taxonomies of this kind of social media. NodeXL provides access to a web gallery of data [2], allowing users to browse existing data sets and upload their own as well. Borrowing the vision of telescope arrays that create composite images far better than any individual instrument could, the Social Media Research Foundation envisions an user generated archive that provides a research asset that supports the collective effort to understand the structures and dynamics of network data.

[1] NodeXL Image Gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marc_smith/sets/72157622437066929/
[2] NodeXL Graph Gallery: http://nodexlgraphgallery.org

Course Objectives
After this course, participants will:

(1) Be familiar with the basic concepts of networks, social networks and social media networks
(2) Understand the core features of the NodeXL network analysis and visualization tool
(3) Review images and data sets for dozens of different social media networks
(4) Learn to identify general types of social media networks along with the key people and groups within them

Target Audience
This course is suitable for people with some experience or interest in social media, social science, or social network analysis. It is particularly appropriate for those who are involved in studying social structures and their change over time.

Laboratory and IT requirements:
Participants will need access to a computer connected to the Internet and will be supplied with the free NodeXL software.

EventGraphs:
http://www.cs.umd.edu/localphp/hcil/tech-reports-search.php?number=2010-13

Visualizing the Signatures of Social Roles in Online Discussion Groups:
http://www.cmu.edu/joss/content/articles/volume8/Welser/

Discussion catalysts in online political discussions: Content importers and conversation starters
http://www.connectedaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-JCMC-Discussion-Catalysts-Himelboim-and-Smith.pdf

Analyzing (Social Media) Networks with NodeXL
http://www.connectedaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-CT-NodeXL-and-Social-Queries-a-social-media-network-analysis-toolkit.pdf

Whiter the experts: Social affordances and the cultivation of experts in community Q&A systems
http://www.connectedaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-Social-Computing-Whither-the-Experts.pdf

First steps to NetViz Nirvana: evaluating social network analysis with NodeXL
http://www.cs.umd.edu/~cdunne/pubs/Bonsignore09Firststepsto.pdf

#rw2011 – A Royal Wedding NodeXL Twitter map

28AprMay 7, 2015 By Marc Smith

The Royal Wedding is a topic of great interest around the world.

[flickr id=”5666637994″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”]

This is a map of the connections among the Twitter users who recently tweeted the words #rw2011 when queried on April 28, 2011, scaled by numbers of followers (with outliers thresholded), connected by replying, mentioning and following.

Layout using the “Group Layout” composed of tiled bounded regions. Clusters calculated by the Clauset-Newman-Moore algorithm are also encoded by color.

A larger version of the network map is here: www.flickr.com/photos/marc_smith/5666637994/sizes/o/

A detailed list of top most between users is here: www.flickr.com/photos/marc_smith/5666069249/

Top most between users: @nytimes, @skynews, @peoplemag, @royalweddingcnn, @itv_news, @katewilliam2011, @julieetchitv, @abc, @cbsnews, @abcroyals

Graph Metric: Value
Graph Type: Directed
Vertices: 1000
Unique Edges: 1735
Edges With Duplicates: 531
Total Edges: 2266
Self-Loops: 0
Connected Components: 271
Single-Vertex Connected Components: 246
Maximum Vertices in a Connected Component: 701
Maximum Edges in a Connected Component: 2199
Maximum Geodesic Distance (Diameter): 11
Average Geodesic Distance: 3.892905
Graph Density: 0.001984985
NodeXL Version: 1.0.1.166

NodeXL is free and open and available from www.codeplex.com/nodexl

NodeXL is developed by the Social Media Research Foundation (www.smrfoundation.org) – which is dedicated to open tools, open data, and open scholarship.

The book, Analyzing social media networks with NodeXL: Insights from a connected world, is available from Morgan Kaufmann and from Amazon.

July 13-14, 2011 – Oxford Internet Institute Summer Doctoral Program: NodeXL Workshop

27AprMay 7, 2015 By Marc Smith

I will be speaking at the Oxford Internet Institute on July 13 and 14, 2011 as part of the Summer Doctoral Program.

I will speak about the use of social network analysis and visualization techniques to analyze and understand social media.

The Summer Doctoral Program is designed to

…bring together advanced doctoral students engaged in dissertation research relating to the Internet and other ICTs. By sharing their work and learning from leading academics in the field, students can enhance the quality and significance of their thesis research and create a peer network of excellent young researchers.

The 2011 Summer Doctoral Programme will draw substantially upon the OII’s research strengths and will involve participation from many of our faculty, together with colleagues from other partner institutions. It will emphasise methodological innovation and good practice in research design, and will expose students to the benefits of discussing their research in a multi-disciplinary teaching environment.”

Oxford Internet Institute: Forum on Relationships and the Internet December 4th

28NovMay 7, 2015 By Marc Smith

On December 4th, I will be attending the Oxford Internet Institute‘s Forum on Relationships and the Internet which will feature researchers focused on computer-mediated relationships. Rather than being used primarily to access information, people often use networked computing to access people, creating or sustaining relationships with others. There are many ways in which the Internet and a range of applications are now used to find new people, find old people, maintain primary connections, sustain weak ties, and build personal and professional relationships. Dating sites are a clear part of the Internet relationship picture but so are professional “dating” services like LinkedIn or professional services directories like Craig’s List, social networking services like Facebook, and “normal” tools like email. People now use a concerted set of Internet tools in building and maintaining their relationships.

Researchers are interested in online dating and social networking. They are now exploring the role of information and communication technologies in all forms of interpersonal relationships. Practitioners from a growing and international relationship industry who want to cultivate and manage these relationship systems will attend along with policy-makers who seek to regulate their uses towards positive ends and avoid abuses.

Speakers include:

Bill Dutton, Oxford Internet Institute
Nai Li, Oxford Internet Institute
Bernie Hogan, Oxford Internet Institute
Ellen Helsper, London School of Economics
Monica Whitty, Nottingham-Trent University
Barry Wellman, University of Toronto and Director of NetLab
Joe Walther, Michigan State University
Nicole Ellison, Michigan State University

Research in Internet relationships goes beyond a focus on dating sites and services to incorporate all the stages and types of relationships being shaped by social information technology. My demonstration will illustrate the ways NodeXL can map relationships in a variety of social media spaces, including YouTube, flickr, email, twitter, and (with the help of Bernie Hogan’s ego-network importer) Facebook. These maps can be a useful ways of distinguishing different kinds of relationship patterns present in these spaces, identifying key participants who acts as hubs or bridges.

The OII also maintains a video webcast site with a great collection of recordings of lectures and panel discussions of a variety of topics related to the Internet and society. In particular, check out Duncan Watts presenting a talk on “Using the Web to do Social Science“.

[flickrset id=”72157622866902335″ thumbnail=”square”]

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