Chapter 6

Ethical Considerations With Social Network Analysis

Before delving into the ethical issues, let’s revisit what social network analysis is about. Social networking is built on the idea that there is a determinable structure to how people know each other, whether directly or indirectly. Notions such as “six degrees of separation”—that everyone on Earth is separated from everyone else by no more than six intermediate personal relationships—have popularized the idea that people can be (however unknowingly) connected through common associates. As we mentioned at the beginning of this book, social network analysis (SNA) is the mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, computers, Web sites, and ...

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