Analysis of Findings

“Social network analysis is the application of the broader field of network science to the study of human relationships and connections (Hansen, Shneiderman, & Smith, 2011, p. 4).”  Networks are “collection[s] of things and their relationships to one another.  The 'things' that are connected are called nodes, vertices, entities, and in some contexts, people - refer to Figure 1.  The connections between the vertices are called edges, ties, and links - refer to Figure 2 (Hansen, Shneiderman, & Smith, 2011, p. 31).”  Social networks are formed “whenever people interact, directly or indirectly, with other people, institutions, and artifacts (Hansen, Shneiderman, & Smith, 2011, p. 31-32).”