Europe and North America Regional GCED Network

3) Social network analysis as a methodological approach to study relations
Social network analysis has interdependency as a point of departure. The
starting assumption of this methodological framework is that individual
characteristics (attributes) are not enough to capture the complexity of the
phenomenon we aim at observing.
Social network analysis is a research body that aims to measure and describe
the structure of relations among social entities. It can be applied to a range of
domains and disciplines. Our study uses social network analysis to describe
and identify patterns in relational contexts (Scott and Carrington, 2011).
Networks vary along two core dimensions: the structural pattern according
to which public power is shared among the members and the degree and
patterns of integration among the members (International Encyclopedia of the
Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001).
Key issues in social network analysis are network definition and data collection.
Particularly important is the choice of boundary definition, visualization, and
network measures.
Social network analysis methodology and analytical tools applied to the study of
the relations between actors working on GCED promotion and implementation
in Europe and North America allow us to study in-depth the structural
characteristics of the network and therefore understand the main features of
the pattern of collaboration, information exchange, and meetings among these
actors. This could allow us to understand the constraints and positive elements
of this GCED network and possible pathways to strengthen this network.
The introduction to SNA starts with key concepts and properties that are
recognized in the literature. Most of the language comes from graph theory, as
it aims at describing the social structure of phenomena (Butts, 2008, p. 13).
3.1. Social network analysis terminology
In SNA, graphical visualization of networks displays actors as nodes and links
or interactions as ties (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Example of network graph visualization
Nodes are entities or actors displayed in
a network graph. Examples are people,
political parties, organizations, countries,
tweets, webpages, and authors.
Ties are links or interactions among nodes in
a network graph. Examples are relationships,
trade flows, affiliation, hyperlinks on the web,
road traffic, and citations.
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