Using social network analysis as a tool in action research

The following paper presents case examples of one research team's use of social network analysis (SNA) with three different collaboratives in South Florida: (a) a Collective Impact initiative seeking to end youth homelessness, (b) a university collaborative of campus organizations working towar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of community psychology 2022-09, Vol.50 (8), p.3421-3437
Main Authors: Paterson, Susan, McInerney, Elizabeth E. W., Evans, Scotney D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action research
Coalitions
Collaboration
collective impact
College students
Community research
Homeless people
Network centrality
nonprofit organizations
organizational collaboratives
Organizational communication
Organizational power
Organizational research
power
Social justice
Social network analysis
Social networks
Youth organizations
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Summary:The following paper presents case examples of one research team's use of social network analysis (SNA) with three different collaboratives in South Florida: (a) a Collective Impact initiative seeking to end youth homelessness, (b) a university collaborative of campus organizations working towards Black students' concerns, and (c) a movement network of local social justice organizations. The research team used SNA to assess the level of connectivity of three different community coalitions. While research questions were slightly different for each collaborative, each project asked about the frequency of communication between organizations to determine connectivity. Results vary between case examples. Both the Youth Homeless Collaboration and the Black Student Association used Gephi to analyze results, while The Community Partnership used R to measure network centrality. The paper concludes with a general discussion of challenges related to using SNA as an action research tool, as well as the role of power in organizational networks.
ISSN:0090-4392
1520-6629
DOI:10.1002/jcop.22844