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Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques ... - Index of - Free

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336<br />

<strong>Knowledge</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Tools</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Techniques</strong><br />

Table 27.1<br />

Collecting Data for Social Network Analysis<br />

Collection Comments<br />

method<br />

Surveys Each member <strong>of</strong> a network fills out a form that indicates the<br />

strength <strong>of</strong> his or her relationship in a particular dimension with<br />

each other member. This method is not practical for groups larger<br />

than 150 to 200, but the results within this range provide broad<br />

coverage <strong>and</strong> actionable results within groups up to this size.<br />

Ethnographic Practitioners observe <strong>and</strong> interview individual members <strong>of</strong> a<br />

interviews network, engaging them in questions about their interactions, <strong>and</strong><br />

use the data collected to develop the data. This method is not<br />

practical for large groups, but can be very effective when used in<br />

conjunction with the development <strong>of</strong> a knowledge map <strong>of</strong> an<br />

organization (that is, you would map knowledge repositories<br />

<strong>and</strong> Web sites as nodes along with key individuals or groups).<br />

Electronic S<strong>of</strong>tware tracks <strong>and</strong> analyzes the flow <strong>of</strong> e-mails among<br />

activity individuals in an organization, on an e-mail distribution list<br />

mapping (listserv), or who access <strong>and</strong> use specific documents in a repository.<br />

This method cannot help you determine the context <strong>of</strong> the<br />

activity, <strong>and</strong> it is also difficult to use without addressing privacy<br />

concerns. However, this method is very useful in identifying<br />

patterns <strong>of</strong> interaction <strong>and</strong> the leaders <strong>of</strong> large networks.<br />

• “Do you find it easy to access this other person when you need help?”<br />

• “How much more effective could you be if you could communicate more with<br />

this other person?”<br />

The SNA practitioner uses different types <strong>of</strong> questions for different situations <strong>and</strong> business<br />

goals; the questions listed here are, however, very typical <strong>and</strong> useful in many settings.<br />

Surveys can be administered by distributing simple spreadsheet documents or by<br />

forms-based Web programs. The people being surveyed mark their response to the<br />

question with respect to every other person in the survey, rating the answers on a scale<br />

from 0 to 5 or 6. For example, shown here is a sample survey.<br />

Please indicate the extent to which the people listed below provide you with information you<br />

use to accomplish your work.<br />

Pete Response Scale:<br />

Mohan 0 = I Do Not Know This Person/I Have Never Met this Person<br />

Sarah 1 = Very Infrequently<br />

Quentin 2 = Infrequently<br />

Rudy 3 = Somewhat Infrequently<br />

Ben 4 = Somewhat Frequently<br />

Ashok 5 = Frequently<br />

Aaron 6 = Very Frequently

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