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Social network analysis is referred to a common practice of measuring and mapping relationships and its flow between various groups, people, and organizations. These include the other data or knowledge or information processing entities as well.

In real terms, the social network analysis offers both mathematical as well as visual analysis of the human relationships. It is a common term which has been widely used over the century so as to convey the multifaceted sets of relationships between the members of the social system.

It was in the year 1954 when Jay Barnes, a popular social scientist, started to use the term- social network analysis to represent the different patterns within and outside of the founded groups like families or tribes and the social categories such as ethnicity or gender.

In the recent years, the social network analysis has developed from the reminiscent descriptions to a more truly analytical model. All of which has been evident in the different methods and research circles. The shape of the social network whether expansive or small, external or internal can help to highlight on the collaborative nature of a team or an individual.

In the other words, one group of individuals who can only collaborate and communicate with one another can already share the same knowledge to a great extent and even same set of the contacts. On the other hand, a group of individuals with a connection to a more diverse and broader array of the social world is more likely to get access to the broader knowledge base. This is the reason why it is decisive to prioritize the diversity as the single major asset in your own portfolio of the relationships. In fact, the broader is your social network, the bigger will be your relationship bank and its given sphere of authority or influence.

The social network contacts the specific relationships or ties between the individuals. The key assumptions can also be made as to the expansive nature, the quality as well as on frequency of the interaction between two individuals. The very concept of SNA or social network analysis has been there since 1930s and has been continuing as an intersection of anthropology, psychology, organization, sociology, mathematics and organization design.
Specifically, social network analysis can be described as a graph theory and its roots have been embedded in the academic circles and are too complicated for most to comprehend.