Social Networks Analysis

Abstract

Supported by advances in technology, simulation-, scenario- and game-based assessments (DiCerbo KE, Behrens JT, Implications of the digital ocean on current and future assessment. In: Lissitz R (eds) Computers and their impact on state assessment: recent history and predictions for the future. Information Age Publishing, Charlotte, pp 273–306, 2012; Mislevy RJ, Oranje A, Bauer MI, Von Davier A, Hao J, Corrigan S,.. John M, Psychometric considerations in game-based assessment. GlassLab Report, 2014) provide opportunities for the students to interact with complex tasks. Rich process data can be collected during the assessment, such as log data of student response actions (e.g., Zhu M, Shu Z, von Davier AA, J Educ Measur 53(2):190–211, 2016b), keystroke data (e.g., Almond R, Deane P, Quinlan T, Wagner M, Sydorenko T, A preliminary analysis of keystroke log data from a timed writing task. In Educational testing service research report series (No. RR-12-23), pp. 1–61, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2333-8504.2012.tb02305.x ), and eye-tracking data (e.g., Tai RH, Loehr JF, Brigham FJ, Int J Res Method Educ 29(2):185–208, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437270600891614 ). Process data record the series of activities conducted by students during problem-solving processes and contain information not represented in the final answers. One useful direction in which to study process data is to explore how students transit from one action to other actions, or from one state to other states. In this chapter, we introduce the basic concepts and methods of Social Network Analysis (SNA) and discuss related applications in visualizing and analyzing process data using SNA to understand the transitions in process data.