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Previous articleNext article FreeSpecial Section: Social Network AnalysisGlossaryEric Rice and Anamika Barman-AdhikariEric RiceUniversity of Southern California Search for more articles by this author and Anamika Barman-AdhikariUniversity of Denver Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreTo familiarize readers with the concepts and terms used in social network analysis, we have organized this glossary in sequence from fundamental terms to the more complex concepts.Social network analysis (SNA): is a method of mapping and assessing relationships between people or groups of people (e.g., families, agencies, organizations). SNA is a valuable research tool for social work researchers because it not only provides a visual analysis of networks but also provides a mathematical means for analyzing human relationships.node: an actor in a network; nodes can be individuals, families, or organizations, but the term refers to the smallest unit in a particular network analysis.links: show the flow of relationships between the nodes; network maps are a graphic representation of the nodes and links between nodes.egocentric network analysis: An analysis of a focal actor (i.e., the Ego position; the person whose network is being studied), the direct relationship links (see ties) to others surrounding the Ego; and the effects of those relationships on the Ego. Also known as personal network analysis.Ego: The individual under study in an egocentric analysis (occupies the core position in an egocentric network map); data are collected from the Ego.alter: An individual described by the Ego as a person with whom the Ego has some type of relationship; the alters surround the Ego in an egocentric analysis and network map.sociometric network analysis: An analysis of a population of actors and the interconnected relations (both direct and indirect) among those actors (also known as whole network analysis).tie - (edge): The relationship between nodes in a sociometric network (also known as an edge); ties can be derived from a variety of social relationships, such as friendships, sexual contacts, persons with whom an individual uses drugs, or collaborative networks among social service agencies.centrality: a fundamental concept and essential to social network analysis, which is used to understand the roles of specific nodes in a network. Centrality is considered/measured in various ways, including degree centrality, betweenness, and Bonacich centrality.degree centrality: The number of network ties a node has with alters, or the number of edges adjacent to a node (edge is also referred to a tie in sociometric networks).betweenness: The number of pairs of nodes a given node lies between. This measure quantifies the times a node acts as a bridge along the shortest path between two nodes. A node between two other key nodes can play an important role as a network broker, determining what does or does not flow in the network.Bonacich centrality: A modified measure of degree centrality in which an individual’s connections are weighed by considering the centrality of the connections to that individual’s connections.composition: The configuration of an egocentric network; in an egocentric analysis, a single alter attribute can be operationalized in three ways: (a) the number of alters possessing the attribute, (b) the proportion of alters possessing the attribute, and (c) the presence or absence of alters with the particular attribute.density: Typically calculated as a proportion with values ranging from 0 to 1, which represents the actual number of ties as a function of the possible number of ties in a network of a given size (also used in egocentric analysis).component: Components of a network are subgroups that are linked within, but detached between subgroups.exponential random graph model: A set of statistical models used with sociometric network data to assess factors associated with the presence or absence of a particular tie, and used to determine whether such a tie cannot be attributed to chance alone.k-core: A minimal subnetwork of actors within a network who are connected to a minimum of k other actors in that subnetwork.event-based approach (EBA): A sampling method that creates a social network boundary based on shared activities. Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research Volume 6, Number 3Fall 2015 Published for the Society for Social Work and Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/682724 © 2015 by the Society for Social Work and Research. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Tonya B. Van Deinse, Ashley Givens, Joseph J. Frey, Mariah Cowell, Gary S. Cuddeback Size and attributes of probation officers’ service provider networks: connecting individuals with mental illnesses to community-based supports, Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 61, no.55 (Jun 2022): 245–262.https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2022.2082623