Social Networks and Analytics

Social network analysis is becoming a prominent data analytics method. In the big data era, high volumes of a wide variety of valuable data can be easily generated or collected at a high velocity. By using advanced social network analysis, researchers from a range of disciplines can analyze large-scale datasets to learn about relationships underlying social networks and community structures by analyzing the linkage patterns among individuals. In this article, the authors address the basic concepts of social network and analytics as well as the applications of social network analysis methods in big data analysis.