The Fundamentals of Network Analysis Methodology for Social Work Research

Increasingly, scholars are recognizing the pragmatic utility of network analysis methodology for social work research. Network analysis is a robust tool for making sense of the complicated person-in-environment circumstances, and practice and policy implementation systems that are paramount to the profession, and of central interest to social work researchers and practitioners. With the articulation of the twelve Grand Challenges for social work, the need to enhance methodological capacity to unravel the vast complexity of these challenges, and inform translational outcomes, could not be more critical. The very nature of network analysis positions it optimally to meet this need for enhanced capacity. Network analysis is a flexible, pragmatic, theory grounded methodology, which can be applied to studies at the most micro-level all the way through to the most macro-level of inquiry. Its expansive range includes examining social patterns of individuals, such as the peer-relationships of youth in foster care, time series designs that track group development and dynamics, as well as research that maps vast collaborative interorganizational networks and the complexity that informs their functioning, to name some.

The objectives of this workshop are: 1) to orient participants to what network analysis as a theory-informed methodological approach offers social work research, 2) to establish a foundational understanding of network analysis methods, and 3) to facilitate consideration of ways to incorporate network analysis into the respective methodological toolkits of participants. The workshop is designed to benefit both those participants wishing to apply network analysis methods in their research programs, as well as those wanting to become better-equipped as consumers of network research.

It will be structured to include four components. First, to orient participants, the facilitators will present an introduction to network concepts for framing network inquiries, study design, procedures, and data collection. Second, to ground this orienting material in an experiential application, participants will be invited to, in small groups, critically dissect an actual mixed-methods network analysis study (conducted by the facilitators) focusing on 1) fit between method and research objectives, 2) study design choices and associated pros and cons, and 3) considerations for various sampling strategies and related implementation challenges. Third, facilitators will offer some concrete ‘how to’ knowledge needed for implementing a network study, including an introduction to basic network statistics (e.g., centrality and density) and data analytic procedures, exposing participants to network analysis software and how to use it. Theoretical considerations central to network analysis will be infused throughout. Lastly, workshop participants will be invited to identify and discuss with the group possible opportunities to apply network analytic methods in their own research programs; this closing segment of the workshop is informed by the dual intention of transferring workshop learning to each participant’s self-identified research context, and to also create a network in the room itself, allowing for potential future collaborative relationships to emerge.