Analysis and Construction of a Small International High School’s Social Networks

Abstract

Social network analyses have been conducted in school settings before, revealing to researchers the nature of students’ habits and trends. In this study I, along with my research partner, will create a social network illustrating the relationships between 81 high school students of diverse backgrounds and ages. We’d be assembling said social network through the use of a survey in which students are told to report the last three students they talked to. In addition, the survey will be sent, having students self-identify their in-class habits, answer questions to help determine their personality, and demographics. In doing so, a comprehensive social network will be made illustrating the relationships of students. As for results, we aim to observe the nature of relationships in the school, answering questions like: do freshmen often make friends with upperclassmen? Additional information like the ages, nationalities, and genders of the students will allow us to find out if certain characteristics are shared among friends. The results of this research will be beneficial when trying to understand just how tight-knit the 81 students are.