Lecture #7

Network Analysis’’
Social Data Analytics Course

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

 Social Network Analysis
Definition
Social Network Analysis (SNA) is the use of graph-theoretic and matrix algebraic
techniques to study social structure and social relationships.

It is also known as network science, is a field of data analytics that uses networks and
graph theory to understand social structures. SNA techniques can also be applied to
networks outside of the societal realm.
• With a type of social relationship in some bounded context, you can begin to map the social
world as a graph. In its most basic form, a graph is essentially a picture of the relationships
between different types of social actors.
• This picture becomes incredibly powerful when we begin to use mathematical concepts to
understand how actors relate to each other or upon what social principles the network may have
been formed. Thus, there is a mathematical definition of a graph which is slightly more technical
(𝐺 = (𝑉, 𝐸)).
Stands for Vertex, or Node (N)
Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024
 Network-Level
Network properties provide insight into the overall structure
and health of a network.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

 NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
Like centrality measures, there are a variety of network-level measures that evaluates the entire
network instead of a single node in it.

Order and Size Density Clustering Coefficient Length

The cardinality of V(N) The potential connecti- The degree to which The number of edges
and the cardinality of ons in a network that nodes in a network tend between the starting
set E(M). are actual connections. to group together. and ending nodes.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

 NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
Like centrality measures, there are a variety of network-level measures that evaluates the entire
network instead of a single node in it.

Distance Diameter Components Bridges

The path that requires The longest shortest A group of nodes that A node that when
the least hops (Paths follow path that exists in the are connected to each removed, creates a
edges between nodes) graph. other. connected component.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

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NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
1) Order and Size:

The order of a graph is the number of nodes in the

graph. More accurately, keeping in mind that the
graph is really a set of nodes and edges, the order is
the cardinality of 𝑉(𝑁).
• The variable 𝑛 represents the number of nodes in
the graph. the number of edges in the graph will
be represented as variable 𝑚.
We use order to refer to the cardinality of the set
𝑉(𝑁), while just saying cardinality to refer to the
cardinality of set 𝐸(𝑀).

Cardinality is simply a mathematical term for how many components/elements there are in a set.
Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024
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NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
1) Order and Size:

The size of the graph is defined as how many edges

there could possibly be if everyone had a
relationship with everyone else in the network. It is
the maximum possible number of ties.
𝑛(𝑛−1)
• For undirected network, it is calculated as 2
• For directed network, is 𝑛(𝑛 − 1).

For example, a network with nodes A, B, and C has a

size of 3.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

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NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
2) Network Density:
The density of a graph is a measure of how many ties
between actors exist compared to how many ties
between actors are possible. It is the number of edges
divided by the total possible edges. (E.g.: A family reunion has
high network density, but a public bus has low network density).
𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦
• For undirected network, it is calculated as 𝑆𝑖𝑧𝑒
𝑚
= 𝑛(𝑛−1)
2
𝑚
• For directed network, is𝑛(𝑛−1).

For example, a network with Node A connected to Node B,

and Node B connected to Node C, the network density is 2/3
because there are two edges out of a possible 3.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

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NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
2) Network Density:
Examples “A” and “B” illustrate cases where the
number of actual connections between nodes is
exactly the same as the number of potential
connections. You can’t draw any new lines to
connect these nodes; they’re all already connected.
They’re perfectly “dense.”

Now take a look at example C. Like example B, there

are three nodes. But in this case, two of the nodes
(the top and bottom ones) aren’t connected to each
other. This little network is missing one of
its potential connections, and as a result, its network
density drops to two-out-of-three, or 66.7%.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

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NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
2) Network Density:

The density of a network property is important to

consider for two reasons.
• First, (which is the definition of density!) is that it can
help us understand how connected the network is
compared to how connected it might be.
• Second, when comparing two networks with the
same number of nodes and the same type of
relationships, it can tell us how the networks are
different.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

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NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
3) Clustering Coefficient :

Clustering Coefficient is the degree to which nodes in a

network tend to cluster or group together.
• Calculating the clustering coefficient is the same as
density, but with ego and ego’s ties removed.
• The way we can quantity this mathematically is to say
what proportion of one’s neighbors are connected among
themselves. For a node 𝑖 with degree 𝑘𝑖 the local
clustering coefficient is defined as:
2 𝑒𝑖 Social networks have a high clustering coefficient, people
𝐶𝑖 = tends to group to in a connected dense communities where
𝑘𝑖 (𝑘𝑖 − 1) there is a lot of friendships between this set of people.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

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NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
4) Length:

Length is the number of edges between the starting and

ending nodes, known as hops. In order to calculate the
length between two nodes, a path must be
predetermined.

5) Distance:

Distance is the number of edges or hops between the

starting and ending nodes following the shortest path.
Unlike length, the distance between two nodes uses
only the shortest path — the path that requires the least
hops.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

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NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
6) Components:

Components are the isolated sub-networks that

connect within, but are disconnected between, sub-
networks.
• Not all nodes in a network will necessarily be connected
to each other. A connected component is a group of
nodes that are connected to each other, but not
connected to another group of nodes. Another way of
thinking of this is a group of connected nodes that have
no path to a node from another group.
• Depending on the network, there can be many
connected components, or even only one. The diagram
shows a network with two connected components.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024

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NETWORK-LEVEL MEASURES
7) Bridge:

A bridge is a node that when removed, creates a

connected component. Another way of thinking about it
is that a bridge is a node that is the sole connection of a
group of connected nodes to another group of
connected nodes.
8) Diameter:
The diameter of a network is the largest of all the
calculated shortest path between any pair of nodes in a
network and it can provide an idea of how long it would
take for some information/ideas/message to pass
through the network.

Copyright © Dr. Reem Essameldin 2023-2024