ERIC Number: EJ1259596
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1364-5579
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Available Date: N/A
Using Social Network Analysis to Complete Literature Reviews: A New Systematic Approach for Independent Researchers to Detect and Interpret Prominent Research Programs within Large Collections of Relevant Literature
Cowhitt, Thomas; Butler, Timothy; Wilson, Elaine
International Journal of Social Research Methodology, v23 n5 p483-496 2020
Literature reviews are required at early stages of a traditional research progression. Many systematic approaches help researchers identify relevant literature. However, there is far less support for interpreting large collections of references. Understanding the evolution of knowledge within a discipline requires an awareness of the collaborative networks from which significant advances originate. Unfortunately, this relational awareness is only acquired after years of professional experience. Therefore, early-career researchers are at a fundamental disadvantage when conducting literature reviews. Social Network Analysis (SNA) can make the interpretation of large collections of literature more manageable. This paper provides a method for generating a co-authorship network from reference lists. The partition of the co-authorship network into communities provides a reviewer with direction to organise literature into meaningful groups. The interpretation of seemingly disparate and entangled research programs is far more manageable when interpreting smaller collections of highly relevant literature.
Descriptors: Social Networks, Network Analysis, Literature Reviews, Systems Approach, Computer Software, Authors, Visual Aids
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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