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February 2026
The Spark
The Spark
I was asked to help organize a reunion of the past 20 years of alumni from Vanderbilt's Ed.D. K-12 and Higher Ed. Educational Leadership and Policy program. I was tasked with hosting a number of networking sessions. I love the diverse group of people who gather from around the world for a program like this. I wanted a way to map out the social network that formed between participants.
The Process
The Process
Gather
Gather
We ran a traditional networking event the first day. This was a simple "Find someone who(se)..." activity where you mingle and meet others.
Coding
Coding
I plopped on the floor and coded all the data. I had a unique list of participants so I created a simple validation and digitized all records in the right format.
Analyze
Analyze
I created a frequency matrix to identify the nodes and edges and exported the nodes and edge CSV. Using R in Positron I created the SNA map.
The Visual
The Visual
I just love these maps.
This map is manufactured for a reunion to spark conversation and connect our social network with rigorous methodological processes. These maps have been used in a variety of research settings especially where informal social networks may be more difficult to identify.
The Takeaway
The Takeaway
We had a tangled, interconnected network. Yellow is not a popular favorite color which means that a lot of people connected to that node!
Next Steps
Next Steps
I plan to incorporate select questions in my staff surveys this school year that help me identify our informal mentoring and support networks. It's easy to do if you plan ahead!
Also, I'm very thankful for my time with the LASER Institute where I learned these skills from brilliant researchers from NC State.
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