Analyzing (Social Media) Networks with NodeXL

Picture of Marc A. Smith
Marc A. Smith
Picture of Ben Shneiderman
Ben Shneiderman
Picture of Natasha Milic-Frayling
Natasha Milic-Frayling
Picture of Eduarda Rodrigues
Eduarda Rodrigues
Picture of Vladimir Barash
Vladimir Barash
Picture of Cody Dunne
Cody Dunne
Picture of Tony Capone
Tony Capone
Picture of Eric Gleave
Eric Gleave
Published at International Conference on Communities and Technologies | University Park, Pennsylvania 2009
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Abstract

We present NodeXL, an extendible toolkit for network overview, discovery and exploration implemented as an add-in to the Microsoft Excel 2007 spreadsheet software. We demonstrate NodeXL data analysis and visualization features with a social media data sample drawn from an enterprise intranet social network. A sequence of NodeXL operations from data import to computation of network statistics and refinement of network visualization through sorting, filtering, and clustering functions is described. These operations reveal sociologically relevant differences in the patterns of interconnection among employee participants in the social media space. The tool and method can be broadly applied.

Materials