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Overview of Common Social Network Analysis
Software PlatformsSpring 2009
A Member of The Monitor GroupA Member of The Monitor Group
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Overview and Methodology
Authors– This report was developed by the Philanthropy and Networks Exploration, a partnership
between the Packard Foundation and Monitor Institute. The exploration is an inquiry into how networks can facilitate greater philanthropic effectiveness
Purpose– The guide is intended to provide an overview of social network analysis tools available– For each tool we outline the primary application as well as the pros and cons for each platform
Sources and Methodology– Software tools were identified from:
The International Network for Social Network Analysis’s software catalogue1
Social network literature2
Resources made available online by social network analysis experts including Bruce Hoppe, Steve Borgatti, and Valdis Krebs
– Comments on usability and functionality are based on our initial experimentation with those tools that could be downloaded for use; the exception is Smart Networks Analyzer, which we have used more extensively
(1) http://www.insna.org/INSNA/soft_inf.html(2) Huisman, M. & van Duijn, M. A. J. (2005). Software for Social Network Analysis. In Peter J. Carrington, John Scott, & Stanley Wasserman (Eds.)
"Models and Methods in Social Network Analysis" (pp. 270-316). Cambridge University Press.
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Summary of Social Network Analysis Tool Types
TypeType DescriptionDescription
Advanced / Academic Social Network Analysis Tools
Accessible but Advanced Social Network Analysis Tools
Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
Often used in academic settings and intended for the most sophisticated types of social network analysis
Often built for performance as opposed to usability User guides and help files are not comprehensive or are written for more
sophisticated audiences Example: UCINET
Used in more general settings, including corporate environments Built with the user in mind and tend to be more intuitive and easier to use than tools
for primarily academic applications Software help files are more comprehensive and user guides are written for a
general user audience Example: NetMiner
Can be used by users less familiar with social network analysis Tools are built without complex functionality and are very easy to navigate and
use Help files are simple and clear Example: Smart Network Analyzer
The SNA tools we surveyed can be broken into the following broad categories:
Online Tools That Enable Visualization of Preexisting User Generated Data
Used to analyze existing data made available by users Often simple to use with intuitive functionality Example: Xigi
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Release Timeline
A partial history of when social network analysis tools first emerged, based on the limited information available on software release dates:
1987: UCINET
1996: Pajek
1998: StOCNET
1999: Otter
2001: NetVis Module, NetMiner
2002: Visone
2004: Cross Network Analytics
2007: Sentinel Visualizer, Friend Wheel, ONA Surveys, Net-Map Toolbox
2008: ManyEyes, Nexus, Mutual Friend Network Visualization, TouchGraph Navigator, KeyHubs
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Advanced / Academic Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: UCINET / NetDraw
UCINET / NetDraw URL: http://www.analytictech.com Description:
– UCINET is a downloadable software program that can read and write social network data files
– NetDraw is bundled with UCINET and used to read and display network visualizations
– UCINET is widely used in academia– The UCINET file format can be used with a number of other analysis and
visualization platforms Environments: Primarily used in academic environments; UCINET is also used by
consultants that have developed customized versions of the software to suit more specific needs
Cost: Free for individual use; $250 for a business license Released: 1987 Pros:
– Significant flexibility to import data from different files formats, including Excel– Can support more complex types of network analysis; compatible with many
different visualization platforms Cons:
– More difficult to use for simple social network analysis tasks– Online help resources are intended for more sophisticated audiences– Difficult to filter data that is being viewed– NetDraw’s visualization does not allow for formatting of output
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Advanced / Academic Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: ONA Surveys
UCINET / NetDraw URL: http://www.onasurveys.com/ Description:
– A survey data processing tool that creates output for use in UCINET / NetDraw
Environments: Primarily used in academic environments; UCINET is also used by consultants that have developed customized versions of the software to suit more specific needs
Cost: Free for limited features, $40/mo for nonprofit use
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Advanced / Academic Social Network Analysis Tools
Other Tools
GUESS URL: http://graphexploration.cond.org Description: A data analysis and visualization tool for graphs and
networks Environments: Academic Cost: Free Pros: Multiple visualization options, ability to customize and modify the
GUESS interface Cons: Utilizes a console for users to enter in commands; potentially
more difficult for newer users
StOCNET URL: http://stat.gamma.rug.nl/stocnet Description: An open source platform for more advanced social network analysis
including network statistics and visual modeling Environments: Academic Cost: Free Released: 1998 Pros: Incorporates modern advanced statistical methods into a software tool Cons: Difficult to use; documentation has not been updated; output is not easy to
manipulate
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Advanced / Academic Social Network Analysis Tools
Other Tools
Otter URL: http://www.caida.org/tools/visualization/otter/ Description: Otter is used for visualizing a variety of types of
network data, including Internet data, topology data, and web site structure data
Environments: Academic Cost: Free Released: 1999 Pros: Able to handle many different types of formatted data
sets Cons: Limited functionality for formatting output and filtering
nodes
NetVis Module URL: http://www.netvis.org/ Description: An open source web-based tool to analyze and
visualize social networks using data from Excel files and online surveys
Environments: Academic Release year: 2001 Cost: Free Pros: Web-based, simple for users to load data Cons: Slow to process data; complicated user interface; limited
visualization functionality for formatting output
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Advanced / Academic Social Network Analysis Tools
Other Tools
Pajek URL: http://pajek.imfm.si/doku.php Description: A program used for the analysis and visualization of large
networks Environments: Academic Cost: Free Released: 1996 Pros: Good online documentation for using the software; advanced
functionality for analyzing data Cons: Difficult to use; primarily intended for more complex mappings of
very large networks
SoNIA URL: http://www.stanford.edu/group/sonia/ Description: A Java-based platform for visualizing longitudinal
network data that shows how networks are formed over time Environments: Academic Cost: Free Pros: Relatively simple to use Cons: Lacks advanced functionality for formatting output;
primarily intended for longitudinal data that shows the evolution and change of networks over time
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Advanced / Academic Social Network Analysis Tools
Other Tools
Commetrix URL: http://www.commetrix.de/ Description (from Wikipedia): “Commetrix is a
Software Framework and Tool for Dynamic Network Analysis and Visualization. It provides easy exploratory access to network graphs and has been applied to study co-authorship, Instant Messaging, manual SNA surveys, e-mail, newsgroups, etc. Each node and each linking event can have properties, e.g. types of messages or rank of nodes, but also types, topics, or time stamps. This allows animations of network growth, structural change, and topic diffusion. A short introductory video is available on the website.”
Environments: Any Cost: Unknown, commercial licenses are
available but nonprofit use may be free
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Advanced / Academic Social Network Analysis Tools
Other Tools
SocNetV URL: http://socnetv.sourceforge.net/index.html Description (from the website): “Social Networks
Visualiser (SocNetV) is a flexible and user-friendly tool for the analysis and visualisation of Social Networks. It lets you construct networks (mathematical graphs) with a few clicks on a virtual canvas or load networks of various formats (GraphViz, GraphML, Adjacency, Pajek, UCINET, etc) and modify them to suit your needs. The application can compute basic network properties, such as density, diameter and distances (shortest path lengths), as well as more advanced structural statistics, such as node and network centralities (i.e. closeness, betweeness, graph), clustering coefficient, etc.”
Environments: Any Cost: Free (open-source)
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Accessible but Advanced Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: NetMiner
NetMiner URL: www.netminer.com Description:
– NetMiner is an software tool for exploratory analysis and visualization of network data
– The tool is able to handle large amounts of data and enables the user to conduct both simple and more advanced types of analysis, including a number of statistical procedures
– Data can be visualized based on several different types of network visualization algorithms and statistical results can be charted using graphs
Environments: Because NetMiner is both user friendly and statistically powerful, it is suitable for a range of audiences including academic, corporate, and general consumer use
Released: 2001 Cost: Student use – $40; Commercial use – $980 Pros:
– Convenient and intuitive user interface, easy to use for less advanced users– Good user support through help files built into the platform as well
documentation on using the software online– Advanced functionality to conduct multiple types of statistical analyses and
visualizations Cons:
– Requires a basic level of technical sophistication and familiarity with social network analysis
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Accessible but Advanced Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: Visone
Visone URL: http://visone.info/ Description:
– Used for the research and teaching of social network analysis. – Run in JAVA and can be downloaded or used via the web– Enables the user to run multiple types of visualizations based on common
scientific algorithms; users can also calculate metrics based on social network data
Environments: Visone is commonly used in academic environments; it is also suitable for a wider audience because it is more affordable and easier to use than most academic platforms with similar functionality
Cost: Free Released: 2002 Pros:
– Clean looking and intuitive user interface– Advanced capability to output multiple types of visualizations
Cons: – Lack of help files integrated within the software platform– Online user’s manual to conducting analyses is not comprehensive and
other online software documentation is intended for more sophisticated academic audiences
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Accessible but Advanced Social Network Analysis Tools
Other Tools
InFlow (Valdis Krebs) URL: http://www.orgnet.com/inflow3.html Description: InFlow is a set of proprietary network tools for visualizing and
analyzing networks based on user generated data to determine where gaps and effective network connections exist
Environments: Corporate, academic, non-profit Cost: $995 per seat and site license options Pros: Good reputation; user friendly; includes visualization and metrics Cons: JAVA platform can sometimes be slow; data must be precisely
formatted
Network Evaluation Tool (Cross Network Analytics) URL: https://webapp.comm.virginia.edu/NetworkRoundtable/ Description: Automates data collection and social network analysis;
only available to Network Roundtable (Rob Cross’s consultancy) members
Environments: Corporate Released: 2004 Cost: Network Roundtable membership ($12,500 per year) Pros: Appears to have advanced functionality Cons: Requires membership to Network Roundtable
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Accessible but Advanced Social Network Analysis Tools
Other Tools
Sentinel Visualizer URL: http://www.fmsasg.com/Products/SentinelVisualizer/ Description: Advanced proprietary social network analysis tool intended
for government and corporate use; target audiences include intelligence analysts, law enforcement, investigators, and researchers
Environments: Government, corporate Released: 2007 Cost: $2,500 per user Pros: Advanced capabilities for visualizing social networks in
alternative formats, such as geospatial views, timelines, and 3D displays
Cons: More expensive than many other options
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Accessible but Advanced Social Network Analysis Tools
Other Tools
TouchGraph Navigator URL: http://www.touchgraph.com/navigator.html Description: A powerful network graphing tool that has reasonably strong database
features. Environments: Organizations Released: 2008 Cost: $500 per copy Pros:
– Attractive output– Powerful filters– Clustering– Uses the network diagram as an interface for organizing and accessing additional
data tables Cons:
– Not free (although not pricey)– Not as simple to use– Not web-based unless you want to pay a high fee
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Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: Smart Networks Analyzer
Smart Networks Analyzer (Developed by Valdis Krebs, used by June Holley) URL: N/A Description:
– A simplified version of Valdis Krebs’s InFlow that is run through a desktop software platform
– Allows the user to simply view and analyze social network data imported from a formatted text file
Environments: Primarily non-profit organizations Cost: Consulting (training) and licensing fee Pros:
– Very easy for non-experts in social network analysis to format data files– Enables users to simply load, filter, and visualize data– Intuitive user interface that allows user to filter data by network and node
attribute Cons:
– Lacks more advanced functionality for using complex and scientific visualization algorithms
– Inability to do complicated formatting of output, including setting the coloring and shape of nodes
– Software can be slow, especially when conducting visualizations and exporting images
– Software must be precisely formatted according to a number of rules
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Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: Many Eyes
URL: http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/
Description: – A free general-purpose data
visualization site that contains a simple network diagramming tool
– Allows anyone to upload data to the library and visualize it using any one of a variety of types of diagrams
Environments: Cross-sectoral Cost: Free Released: 2008 Pros:
– Quick to learn, free, and easy to use Cons:
– No advanced network analysis or visualization features
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Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: Nexus
URL: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2415325843#/apps/application.php?id=5303167721&ref=s
Description: – A visualization tool designed
specifically for charting Facebook social networks
Environments: Facebook Cost: Free Released: 2008 Pros:
– Visually attractive interface– Simple to use– Facebook integration
Cons: – Works only with Facebook and no
other data source (or social networking site)
– Just two charting modes with little further design flexibility
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Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: Mutual Friend Network Visualization
URL: http://danielmclaren.net/node/77 Description:
– A visualization tool designed specifically for charting Facebook social networks
Environments: Facebook Cost: Free Released: 2008 Pros:
– Visually attractive interface– Simple to use– Facebook integration
Cons: – Works only with Facebook and no
other data source (or social networking site)
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Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: Friend Wheel
URL: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2415325843
Description: – An alternative type of network diagram
designed specifically for showing social networks on Facebook
Environments: Facebook Cost: Free Released: 2007 Pros:
– Visually attractive output– Simple to use– Facebook integration
Cons: – Works only with Facebook and no
other data source (or social networking site)
– Ego-centric design is not effective for charting larger networks
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Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: Facebook Visualizer
URL: http://vansande.org/facebook/visualiser/
Description: – A network diagram of Facebook
friends that uses profile photos Environments: Facebook Cost: Free Pros:
– Shows friends’ actual faces – Facebook integration– Filters using a number of different
variables Cons:
– Works only with Facebook and no other data source (or social networking site)
– Slow and hard to navigate
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Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: TouchGraph Facebook
URL: http://www.touchgraph.com/TGFacebookBrowser.html
Description: – A network diagram of Facebook
friends that uses profile photos Environments: Facebook Cost: Free Pros:
– Shows friends’ actual faces – Facebook integration– Powerful set of filters– Clusters are helpful for navigation
Cons: – Works only with Facebook and no
other data source (or social networking site)
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Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: Keyhubs
URL: http://www.keyhubs.com/ Description:
– A network-diagramming web service designed specifically for surfacing informal networks in organizations
Environments: Organizations and other small groups
Cost: Free for surveys of up to 10 people, $99/mo for unlimited size
Released: 2008 Pros:
– Includes survey features for gathering data
– Simple and easy to use Cons:
– Works only with its own survey data– No advanced network analysis
features
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Simple, Easy to Use Social Network Analysis Tools
In-Depth Profile: Net-Map Toolbox
URL: http://netmap.wordpress.com/ Description (from the website):
– “Net-Map is an interview-based mapping tool that helps people understand, visualize, discuss, and improve situations in which many different actors influence outcomes. By creating Influence Network Maps, individuals and groups can clarify their own view of a situation, foster discussion, and develop a strategic approach to their networking activities. More specifically, Net-Map helps players to determine
what actors are involved in a given network, how they are linked, how influential they are, and what their goals are.
– Determining linkages, levels of influence, and goals allows users to be more strategic about how they act in these complex situations. It helps users to answer questions such as: Do you need to strengthen the links to an influential potential supporter (high influence, same goals)? Do you have to be aware of an influential actor who doesn’t share your goals? Can increased networking help empower your dis-empowered beneficiaries?
– The tool is low-tech and low-cost and can be used when working with rural community members with low formal education as well as with policy makers or international development actors.”
Environments: Nonprofits and any small group Cost: Free Released: 2007
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Online Tools That Enable Visualization of Preexisting User Generated Data
Xigi.net URL: http://www.xigi.net/ Description: Utilizes data provided by users to create network maps
showing connections among organizations and people
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Survey Collection Tools
Network Genie URL: https://secure.networkgenie.com Description: Network Genie allows users to design and manage surveys for
gathering data for social network maps Environments: General use Costs: Free Pros: Free, web-based Cons: Complicated user interface, limited functionality and customizability for
advanced survey questions