IkeNet: Social Network Analysis of E-mail Traffic in the Eisenhower Leadership Development Program

摘要

Social network analysis (SNA) has become an important analytic tool for analyzing terrorist networks, friendly command and control structures, and a wide variety of other applications. In this project we collect social network data from a group of 24 Army officers in a one-year graduate program at Columbia University. In this report we discuss methodological issues associated with collecting e-mail social networks and include source code for an add-in to Microsoft Outlook to aid in this process. These data were investigated for patterns and trends in mutual, asymmetric, and null dyads. Behavioral changes in the group resulting from awareness of one's position in social network were also studied. Additionally, comparisons were made between SNA data derived from e-mail traffic and from questionnaires. The differences between these two types of networks are important concerns when considering the implementation of SNA as a command and control tool for friendly forces.