Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL: Insights from a Connected World - Softcover

"Hansen, Shneiderman, and Smith, along with their collaborators, have written a readable introduction to the field of social media network analysis. Furthermore, the book is a nice tutorial on an interesting tool that readers can experiment with on their own. For example, the readers can simply use the Facebook application provided by Bernie Hogan, one of the book’s collaborators, to analyze the ego networks that they know best: their own network of friends, family, and acquaintances. This book offers a sure way to understand some of the basic concepts of network analysis."--Computing Reviews

"This is a niche book that is also multi-discliplinary. NodeXL has involved experts in information studies, computer science, sociology, human-computer interaction and cultural studies and this book has contributions from researchers in all these fields and more. It is however highly practical and will motivate readers to use this tool for their own research."--I-Programmer.info

"The authors explore the applications of Microsoft’s NodeXL, a free, open-source social network analysis (SNA) plug-in for use with Excel. It provides instant graphical representation of relationships of complex networked data, drawing on over 20 years of visual analytic theory and information visualization."--Usability News

Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL offers backgrounds in information studies, computer science, and sociology. This book is divided into three parts: analyzing social media, NodeXL tutorial, and social-media network analysis case studies.

Part I provides background in the history and concepts of social media and social networks. Also included here is social network analysis, which flows from measuring, to mapping, and modeling collections of connections. The next part focuses on the detailed operation of the free and open-source NodeXL extension of Microsoft Excel, which is used in all exercises throughout this book. In the final part, each chapter presents one form of social media, such as e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and Youtube. In addition, there are descriptions of each system, the nature of networks when people interact, and types of analysis for identifying people, documents, groups, and events.

• Walks you through NodeXL, while explaining the theory and development behind each step, providing takeaways that can apply to any SNA
• Demonstrates how visual analytics research can be applied to SNA tools for the mass market
• Includes case studies from researchers who use NodeXL on popular networks like email, Facebook, Twitter, and wikis
• Download companion materials and resources at https://nodexl.codeplex.com/documentation