Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community
Published on: May 31, 2019
Social network analysis: Presenting an underused method for nursing research
James Michael Parnell1,2, Jennifer C Robinson3
1School of Graduate Studies in Health Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
Aim:
This paper introduces social network analysis as a versatile method with many applications in nursing research.
Background:
Social networks have been studied for years in many social science fields. The methods continue to advance but remain unknown to most nursing scholars.
Design:
Discussion paper.
Data Sources:
English language and interpreted literature was searched from Ovid Healthstar, CINAHL, PubMed Central, Scopus and hard copy texts from 1965 - 2017.
Discussion:
Social network analysis first emerged in nursing literature in 1995 and appears minimally through present day. To convey the versatility and applicability of social network analysis in nursing, hypothetical scenarios are presented. The scenarios are illustrative of three approaches to social network analysis and include key elements of social network research design.
Implications For Nursing:
The methods of social network analysis are underused in nursing research, primarily because they are unknown to most scholars. However, there is methodological flexibility and epistemological versatility capable of supporting quantitative and qualitative research. The analytic techniques of social network analysis can add new insight into many areas of nursing inquiry, especially those influenced by cultural norms. Furthermore, visualization techniques associated with social network analysis can be used to generate new hypotheses.
Conclusion:
Social network analysis can potentially uncover findings not accessible through methods commonly used in nursing research. Social networks can be analysed based on individual-level attributes, whole networks and subgroups within networks. Computations derived from social network analysis may stand alone to answer a research question or incorporated as variables into robust statistical models.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Social Proof
Social Scripts
Social Traps
Social Exchange Theory
Social Facilitation
The Scientific Method in Nursing Process
When using research findings to change practice, one must understand the process used to guide a study. The scientific method is a systematic, step-by-step process that supports the data's validity, reliability, and generalizability. As a result, findings can be...

