The tie that binds & loose ends: A social network analysis of graduate committee structure

The formation of a graduate committee is a critical point of a graduate student’s career. It is also a key component in the organizational structure of graduate programs. Understanding these committees can aid in the success of a graduate program. This study employs a social network analysis framework to study the organizational structure. The technique provides a visual mapping of the networks, along with key faculty in the network. It is illustrated that although faculty members in the department work with committees outside the department, this is not the standard. In addition, a few faculty members take on the bulk of the committee load. Findings support organizational decision making, which is key in a time of limited resources. Graduate committee social network analysis 2 The tie that binds & loose ends: A social network analysis of doctoral committee structure The formation of a doctoral committee is a critical point of a graduate student’s career. For many doctoral students, the committee they chose can have a profound impact on their research topic, type of research and job placement. While many students take great care in identifying which faculty members they want to work with on their doctoral committee individually, little attention is paid to deciding which combination of faculty members will work best with each other. These small networks of faculty members and graduate students can impact the flow of information through and the organization of the department. The purposes of this study are to identify and display the networks of graduate committees for a specific department and to use social network analysis to examine the structure of these networks. Despite the popularity of social network analysis in fields such as sociology, anthropology, medicine and business, little educational research uses social network analysis. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a practical application of social network analysis for higher education. Here, a data set consisting of master and doctoral committees from 2004-2009 for a department housed in a College of Education is reviewed. Using social network analysis, the structure of the committees will be analyzed in a way that allows a view of networks created by these committees in a variety of different formats. This study differs from both traditional social network analysis and research on higher education. Despite the ever growing popularity of social network analysis in fields such as medicine, sociology and business, very little research has been conducted on higher education (Borgatti et al., 2009) The only exception involves citation research studies, primarily done in schools of business. Also, unlike other social network analysis studies, the networks represented in this study were not chosen by members of the network, but rather by graduate students. However, committee chairs and other committee members can and do exhibit some control over Graduate committee social network analysis 3 the selection of other members. Whereas most research in higher education examines individuals or departments, social network analysis focuses on the network as a whole, and then identifies key players in the network. This technique allows us to see a visual mapping of the networks as well as conduct social network analysis of committees. Theoretical Framework Social etwork Analysis The study of social networks is the actual study of the relationships between individuals and groups, rather than just the individuals themselves. Studying social networks enables researchers to study the different connections that make individuals effective, successful and happy. By studying social networks, the actual relationships an individual has with his or her contacts are studied in a way that previously could not have been. Prior research only allowed us to count the number of ties individuals had or to speculate the strength of these ties. Social network analysis allows researchers to view a mapping of the individual’s ties and the strength of these ties at the same time. When social networks are analyzed on this level, the structure of a network can be viewed and substantive outcomes affected by the network structure can be determined. Social network analysis (SNA) shows the informal relationships within organizations that are often critical to understanding where the creative pockets and informal relationships reside. SNA can be very useful when changes are made within an organization and may allow us to track the diffusion of knowledge throughout a network. Researchers have tried many different ways in the past to explain differences and outcomes in our society using social capital theory. Bourdieu (1972, 1977) writes that social Graduate committee social network analysis 4 capital may otherwise be defined as ‘connections’ and that it is accumulated, transmitted and reproduced through clubs, families, and other sorts of interaction. Social network analysis is the physical representation, through maps and analyses, of social capital theory. Methods This study is exploratory uses existing data and a mixed methods design. It employs structural network analysis coupling empirical and theoretical research. Social Network Analysis is a way of quantitatively analyzing relationships between people and groups (Wasserman & Faust, 1999). A network is a set of ties among a set of actors. These ties represent some substantive relationship between those in the network (Knoke and Kuklinski 1982). For this study faculty members and departments are represented as actors, or nodes. A tie between two nodes indicates that either two faculty members serve on the same committee, or a faculty member serves on a committee outside their department. This example uses social network analysis to examine the relationships, or ties that occur between professors, or nodes within