Social Network Analysis Software for a non-programmer/non-SQL geek
May 16, 2011 2:10 PM Subscribe
What's the best software (free or commercial) for social network mapping for someone with a moderate level of Excel and XML savvy but no SQL/python/programming background?
I just got handed an enormous, high-priority, tight-deadline project by my boss to do social network mapping for one of our clients. I've got a decent tech background (strong Excel skills, including pivot tables; moderate XML skills), but zero SQL or programming expertise. It would need to be compatible with a Windows box.
I'm still in the process of speccing things out with the higher-ups, but the data is going to be pretty messy and unstructured and I anticipate needing to do some work getting it into a usable format. A program that works with Excel or XML inputs would be ideal, but I can probably sort out Access in fairly short order. For the initial project I am dealing with approximately 200 items with at least 3 categories of characteristics each.
I need very robust output and analysis options, including both graphical maps and statistical analysis. Anything under about $200 is totally, completely fine (and that's not a hard ceiling). But I want to get the most bang for my buck possible as far as ease of use and support (training, documentation, and phone if possible).
Basically I need something that I can sit down and within about a day be not wrestling with it but at the stage of organizing and uploading the data (and, preferably, not wrestling with a new program for organizing the data, either). That said, it's possible that this project will extend beyond the current client and so it's important to have a sufficiently robust solution, not just the fastest out-of-the-box.
I'd love your personal recommendations on this. I've checked out the Wikipedia list of social networking software and will keep doing my own research, but if anyone has used one that is particularly awesome as far as usability for a non-programmer I would love to hear it. With the deadline, I don't have a big margin for error on choosing the wrong option. I keep seeing Inflow mentioned: any feedback on that?
I've seen this question, but that was 1) three years ago and 2) only looking for free stuff.
I'm happy to answer more questions if you have them. Thanks in advance!
I just got handed an enormous, high-priority, tight-deadline project by my boss to do social network mapping for one of our clients. I've got a decent tech background (strong Excel skills, including pivot tables; moderate XML skills), but zero SQL or programming expertise. It would need to be compatible with a Windows box.
I'm still in the process of speccing things out with the higher-ups, but the data is going to be pretty messy and unstructured and I anticipate needing to do some work getting it into a usable format. A program that works with Excel or XML inputs would be ideal, but I can probably sort out Access in fairly short order. For the initial project I am dealing with approximately 200 items with at least 3 categories of characteristics each.
I need very robust output and analysis options, including both graphical maps and statistical analysis. Anything under about $200 is totally, completely fine (and that's not a hard ceiling). But I want to get the most bang for my buck possible as far as ease of use and support (training, documentation, and phone if possible).
Basically I need something that I can sit down and within about a day be not wrestling with it but at the stage of organizing and uploading the data (and, preferably, not wrestling with a new program for organizing the data, either). That said, it's possible that this project will extend beyond the current client and so it's important to have a sufficiently robust solution, not just the fastest out-of-the-box.
I'd love your personal recommendations on this. I've checked out the Wikipedia list of social networking software and will keep doing my own research, but if anyone has used one that is particularly awesome as far as usability for a non-programmer I would love to hear it. With the deadline, I don't have a big margin for error on choosing the wrong option. I keep seeing Inflow mentioned: any feedback on that?
I've seen this question, but that was 1) three years ago and 2) only looking for free stuff.
I'm happy to answer more questions if you have them. Thanks in advance!
Best answer: My social network analyst friend says you should use ORA which you can download free from Carnagie Mellon.
posted by Dreadnought at 5:58 PM on May 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Dreadnought at 5:58 PM on May 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
i use i2, and palintir, but those are out of your price range....
perhaps try, NodeXL - http://nodexl.codeplex.com/
it integrates with excel, i haven't tried it myself, but it looks intuitive.
this one has a good student discount. http://www.analytictech.com/ucinet/description.htm
Netminer is also a good product and less than 200 for student version: http://www.netminer.com/index.php
haven't tried this one, but it looks good, and its free: http://www.visone.info/doku.php?id=download:index
posted by fozzie33 at 5:48 AM on May 17, 2011
perhaps try, NodeXL - http://nodexl.codeplex.com/
it integrates with excel, i haven't tried it myself, but it looks intuitive.
this one has a good student discount. http://www.analytictech.com/ucinet/description.htm
Netminer is also a good product and less than 200 for student version: http://www.netminer.com/index.php
haven't tried this one, but it looks good, and its free: http://www.visone.info/doku.php?id=download:index
posted by fozzie33 at 5:48 AM on May 17, 2011
Response by poster: Dreadnought's social network analyst friend wins!
I tried NodeXL, but it wasn't really able to handle the mapping I needed (ie, a person with multiple nodes of equal weight they point at, with the nodes pointing at other people).
I created a fairly basic Excel csv file with the information I needed and ORA was able to import it with only a few hitches (figuring out what columns to select as nodes was the main issue). The graphics aren't super sexy but they get the job done, and it's very amenable to just futzing around in there. Allows analysis by original node (person, in my case) plus by any node pointed to.
Installation was a breeze. I haven't looked at the documentation too much yet, which should give you an idea of ease of use. Bonus: ORA saves as an XML file which means I may be able to do some independent parsing/display.
posted by athenasbanquet at 11:24 AM on May 23, 2011
I tried NodeXL, but it wasn't really able to handle the mapping I needed (ie, a person with multiple nodes of equal weight they point at, with the nodes pointing at other people).
I created a fairly basic Excel csv file with the information I needed and ORA was able to import it with only a few hitches (figuring out what columns to select as nodes was the main issue). The graphics aren't super sexy but they get the job done, and it's very amenable to just futzing around in there. Allows analysis by original node (person, in my case) plus by any node pointed to.
Installation was a breeze. I haven't looked at the documentation too much yet, which should give you an idea of ease of use. Bonus: ORA saves as an XML file which means I may be able to do some independent parsing/display.
posted by athenasbanquet at 11:24 AM on May 23, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by deludingmyself at 3:52 PM on May 16, 2011