Social network analysis: Exploring connections to advance military nursing science

•The social network analysis (SNA) examined the effects of overlapping sets of social connections and networks at multiple levels.•There are more collaboration ties between Army and Air Force scientists, while scientists in the Navy have more within service connections.•Results are of value to an or...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nursing outlook 2021-05, Vol.69 (3), p.311-321
Main Authors: Pierce, Penny Pierce, Kabo, Felichism, Killian, Jacqueline, Stucky, Christopher, Huffman, Sarah, Migliore, Laurie, Braun, Lisa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Military nursing
Nurse scientists
Nursing
Professional collaborations
Social network analysis
Social networks
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Summary:•The social network analysis (SNA) examined the effects of overlapping sets of social connections and networks at multiple levels.•There are more collaboration ties between Army and Air Force scientists, while scientists in the Navy have more within service connections.•Results are of value to an organization by identifying individuals with high status and whose advice, knowledge or skills is sought by others and those who function as connectors or bridges across units.•Findings suggest evidence for policy makers to propose innovative mechanisms for enhanced scientific collaboration linking to selected performance indicators. Military nurse scientists are embedded in service-affiliated branches (Army, Navy, Air Force) with different missions, but with the singular purpose of generating and disseminating research impacting the health and well-being of DoD beneficiaries. This project examines collaboration among TriService Nursing Research Program (TSNRP) members, seeking opportunities to strengthen, diversify, and expand research collaboration. Social network analysis (SNA) is the empirical inquiry of relations among social actors at different levels of analysis. An electronic SNA assessment and total enumerative sampling were used to explore current collaborations among PhD-prepared military nurse scientists (N = 136). The TSNRP collaboration network has a complex service-driven structure with high status actors whose advice, knowledge, or skills are sought by others, and who function as connectors or bridges across service branches. For military scientists, SNA is instrumental in identifying influential individuals, visualizing opportunities for intraservice mentoring, designing responsive policy, and directing career opportunities for novice scientists.
ISSN:0029-6554
1528-3968
DOI:10.1016/j.outlook.2020.12.013