VennMaker

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VennMaker
Basic data

Maintainer Kronenwett & Adolphs UG
developer Michael Schönhuth, Markus Gamper, Martin Stark, Michael Kronenwett, Mathias Pohl
Publishing year 2010
Current  version 2.0.2
operating system MS Windows , Mac OS , Linux
category Application software
License MIT license
German speaking Yes
www.vennmaker.com

VennMaker is software for the communicative collection and validation of social networks using digital network maps. The program was developed in an interdisciplinary project of the research cluster "Social dependencies and social networks" at the Universities of Trier and Mainz and is used in empirical social research and the humanities .

history

The VennMaker program has been developed since 2006 in a cross-subdivision project of the research cluster “Social dependencies and social networks” at the University of Trier . The interdisciplinary research team led by Dr. Markus Gamper, Michael Kronenwett (MA) and Martin Stark (MA) under the direction of Prof. Dr. Michael Schönhuth are sociologists, computer scientists, historians, ethnologists, criminologists and business educators. In addition, the research project cooperated with the Department of Computer Science and Microsystems at the University of Applied Sciences in Kaiserslautern in order to develop a cooperative user interface for the participatory visualization of networks. VennMaker was launched on January 28, 2010 at the University of Trier. Based on feedback from users and the exchange with scientists, VennMaker is continuously developed. Sales are organized by the company of project employee Michael Kronenwett, Kronenwett & Adolphs UG, together with advice, training and analysis of social networks.

From October 1st to 2nd, 2010 the conference "From paper to laptop - Perspectives of electronic tools for participatory visualization and analysis of social networks" took place at the University of Trier. The participants discussed the advantages and disadvantages of VennMaker compared to non-electronic survey methods (such as questionnaires or network drawings with paper and pen) and other network survey programs (such as EgoNet.QF). Prof. Manfred Brill (FH Kaiserslautern) presented the application of VennMaker for multi-touch technologies, which was also presented at CeBIT 2011.

The program is now used in research and consulting projects around the world (e.g. Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, UK, USA, Mexico, Japan). It is regularly presented in university seminars (e.g. Summer Course “Theory, Methods and Applications of Social Networks” at the Free University of Barcelona ) and at international conferences (such as the Sunbelt Social Networks Conference 2010, 2011 and 2012). VennMaker is also presented to the specialist public from business, education and training at international trade fairs (e.g. didacta , Hannover Messe and CeBIT).

Scientific background

VennMaker's scientific background lies in empirical social research and especially network research . Through its functions, the program combines quantitative methods ( e.g. through the collection of standardized data using integrated questionnaires) and qualitative methods (e.g. through the audiovisual recording of the survey process) of social network analysis. The program is used in the context of Computer Assisted Personal Interviews .

Use of VennMaker

Ego-centered network analysis

The focus is primarily on ego- centered network analysis, ie research into the social network that is organized around a person, the ego . VennMaker combines the standardized survey, which records the relationships between the respondent (ego) and other contact persons (alteri) using certain questioning techniques, with the creation of network maps. These 'network images' can be understood as 'maps of social structures' with the help of which the respondents visualize and describe their social relationships. In contrast to conventional surveys that use paper or questionnaires (e.g. online surveys ), the data can be collected partially or completely visually, in that the interviewee draws his network and relationships. The survey includes not only the qualitative , but also the quantitative description of the relationships and the network structure.

In the first step, name generators are used, ie questions that are used to list contact persons with whom Ego has relationships. In the second step, the characteristics of the contact persons, the so-called alteri, are ascertained with the help of name interpreters. The name interpreters aim e.g. B. on the relationship duration, intensity or the frequency of contact between ego and age or include more detailed information about the contact persons mentioned. This includes, for example, age, gender or place of residence of the Alteri. In a third step, the interviewee draws his network relationships on a digital network map and uses this to visualize his personal network. In addition, questions can be asked about the relationships between the Alteri (age-age relationships). The interviewer can provide support and validate the contacts and relationships drawn through targeted inquiries.

The standardization of the networks created by the VennMaker program allows them to be compared with one another and evaluated quantitatively. Further information such as the subjective meaning of relationships can also be collected and qualitatively evaluated through the audio recording of the interview and the screen capture. The program enables the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, i. H. Triangulation or "mixed method" procedure.

Digital network card with VennMaker

The design of the digital network map at VennMaker goes to one of the Venn diagram of John Venn back that a variant of the Venn diagram represents and its haptic form for 25 years as part of participatory village development planning in the development cooperation is used. On the other hand, the developers used pre-structured network cards that work with concentric circles and sectors and that were developed by Robert L. Kahn and Toni C. Antonucci in their biography and résumé research. The sectors and concentric circles around the ego provide the interviewee with guidelines for creating his network.

Digital network map, created with VennMaker

VennMaker enables the following representations within a network map:

  • Representation of different contact persons using freely selectable and importable symbols (e.g. men, women, institutions, etc.)
  • Weighting of the contact persons based on the size of the symbols (e.g. personal meaning for the ego)
  • Representation of different types of relationships with the help of line color, thickness and type (positive, neutral or negative relationship and strength of the relationship) as well as directed relationships using arrow lines
  • Variable number of sectors and concentric circles (e.g. emotional or geographical proximity, areas of life, etc.)
  • Representation of actor attributes in pie charts arranged around the actor symbols
  • variable labeling of the actor symbols including pseudonymisation

In addition, shapes and colors can be specified.

advantages

The developers advertise with the intuitive user guidance of VennMaker, which makes it possible to collect and document actors and their social relationships as well as the survey process itself (audio-visual recording of the interview as well as the creation process of the network map) without a complicated procedure or large personnel expenditure. Through the participatory process, in which the interview partner and scientist work together on the network to be analyzed, qualitative aspects of the networks (“the stories behind the knots and edges”) could be ascertained communicatively.

In addition, VennMaker combines the advantages of the digital network card:

  • Map creation is recorded as a process (e.g. it is recorded which people are set when and which people frequently change their position).
  • The creation process and the presentation can be changed, i. H. a survey can be continued or deepened at a later point in time.
  • The characteristics of relationships and alteri (e.g. social roles , types of relationships) are recorded both visually and digitally (e.g. in matrices).
  • With the help of filters, parts of the network can be hidden.
  • The collected data is available digitally and can be transferred and processed in other analysis programs such as SPSS , Stata , UCINET or Visone without any further coding work.

A team of historians emphasizes the possibility of using VennMaker not only for systematic, but also for exploratory network analysis. The visualization of social relationships helps

"To reveal unseen patterns and characteristics of networks therefore offering scholars new perspectives on their research subjects. The software offers a variety of tools to represent social relations and their development over time and space. "

In contrast to other programs such as B. UCINET or Pajek, which are used to analyze existing data sets, with the help of VennMaker, even scientists without formal training in social science methods can code, visualize and analyze network data in a relatively uncomplicated manner.

In addition to its use on a scientific level, there are also favorable conditions for commercial use in the field of consulting and organizational development. A study by Eva Eckenhofer on the influence of strategic networks on inter- and intra-organizational occupational fields seems to confirm this. Eckenhofer writes:

"[...] the use of the VennMaker software has been highly applicable and useful during the study. The method was comprehensive even to actors not familiar with the network term and the circular distances of relations have been understood intuitively by participants. This approach can be recommended for use in practice, as an awareness and overview of the network helps to identify structural holes and needs for network development. "

disadvantage

The mentioned advantages of VennMaker such as the simple generation of data by exploratory drawing of network maps can lead to network data being generated "as desired". Based on the anthropologists Michael Schnegg and Hartmut Lang, this type of use of VennMaker therefore requires an unconditional understanding of the subject or the group of actors to be examined.

Another disadvantage of VennMaker is that it is software that requires the use and handling of computers. In field research in particular , the power supply can become a problem, while the technology can react susceptibly to weather and environmental conditions. The application of VennMaker on tablet PCs with touch screens is also still in development. Interview partners who are not technically distant and who are not used to using computers may also have reservations about using this computer-aided method.

The creation of network maps with the help of paper and pens, on the other hand, has the advantage that paper is cheap and easily available as a material and that these aids can be used easily and anywhere. This can make the interview situation easier. Therefore, alternative methods similar to VennMaker are being discussed in science, which do not allow purely quantitative analyzes, but also produce qualitative network narratives. As with VennMaker, these help in interpreting the network structure as well as the actors and their roles.

Web links

literature

  • Düring, Marten / Bixler, Matthias / Kronenwett, Michael / Stark, Martin: VennMaker for Historians: Sources, Social Networks and Software In: Redes. Revista hispana para el análisis de redes sociales 21.2011, 8th ISSN  1579-0185 .
  • Eckenhofer, Eva Maria (2011): Outlining the Benefits of Strategic Networking. In: Journal of Systems Integration 2.2011, 4, pp. 70-86. ISSN  1804-2724 ( PDF file )
  • Gamper, Markus / Kronenwett, Michael / Schönhuth, Michael: Bringing qualitative and quantitative data together. Collecting and analyzing network data with the help of the software tool VennMaker In: Safar, Maytham / Mahdi, Khaled A. (Eds.): Social Networking and Community Behavior Modeling. Qualitative and quantitative measures . Hershey, Idea Group Reference 2012, pp. 193-213. ISBN
  • Gamper, Markus / Kronenwett, Michael: Visual survey of ego-centered networks with the help of digital network maps. In: Kulin, Sabrina / Frank, Keno / Fickermann, Detlef / Schwippert, Knut (eds.): Social network analysis. Theory - Methods - Practice . Münster, Waxmann 2012, pp. 151–166. ISBN 978-3-8309-2672-6 .
  • Haselmair, Ruth: Sources and transmission of knowledge. An investigation using personal network cards In: Gamper, Markus / Reschke, Linda / Schönhuth, Michael (eds.): Knots and Edges 2.0. Social network analysis in media research and cultural anthropology Bielefeld, transcript 2012, pp. 259–283. ISBN 978-3-8376-1927-0 .
  • Hauck, Jennifer / Schiffer, Eva: Between Intuition and Indicators. Using Net-Map for Visual and Qualitative Social Network Analysis In: Gamper, Markus / Reschke, Linda / Schönhuth, Michael (Eds.): Knots and Edges 2.0. Social network analysis in media research and cultural anthropology Bielefeld, transcript 2012, pp. 231–257. ISBN 978-3-8376-1927-0 .
  • Herz, Andreas / Gamper, Markus: Possibilities and limits of the survey of egocentric networks in the online questionnaire and via digital network cards. In: Gamper, Markus / Reschke, Linda / Schönhuth, Michael (eds.): Knots and Edges 2.0. Social network analysis in media research and cultural anthropology . Bielefeld, transcript 2012, pp. 57–87. ISBN 978-3-8376-1927-0
  • Kahn, Robert L./Antonucci, Toni C .: Convoys over the life course. Attachment, roles, and social support. In: Paul B. Baltes / Orville G. Brim (eds.): Life span development and behavior . Vol. 3. New York, Academic Press 1980, pp. 253-286.
  • Kronenwett, Michael / Schönhuth, Michael: VennMaker 1.2, user manual. Trier 2011. ( PDF file )
  • Schnegg, Michael / Lang, Hartmut: Network analysis. A practice-oriented introduction . Methods of Ethnography 1. NWA 1.3 2002. ISSN  1618-6338 ( PDF file )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Research cluster at the Universities of Trier and Mainz “Social dependencies and social networks”: Ü.01 VennMaker , Trier 2012
  2. ↑ Research cluster of the universities of Trier and Mainz "Social dependencies and social networks": "Subproject Ü.01: Software Tool VennMaker 1.0", information poster, University of Trier 2009. ( PDF file )
  3. ^ Website of Prof. Dr. Manfred Brill. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  4. ↑ Eichler, Antje: "From the lecture hall to the executive chair", in: Unijournal 38.2012, 1, Universität Trier 2012, ISSN  1611-9487 , p. 13. ( PDF file )
  5. ↑ Olivier, Claudia: "Paper in spite of a laptop? Digital tools as a supplement to the" paper "variant in the analysis of social networks", lecture at the conference "From paper to laptop - perspectives of electronic tools for participatory visualization and analysis of social networks", 1 October 2010, University of Trier. ( Lecture on www.podcampus.de )
  6. ↑ Hollstein, Betina et al .: "The use of touchscreen-controlled instruments to survey ego-centered networks", lecture at the conference "From paper to laptop - Perspectives of electronic tools for participatory visualization and analysis of social networks", October 1, 2010, University Trier. ( Lecture on www.podcampus.de )
  7. ↑ Reschke, Linda: "From paper to laptop", in: Unijournal 36.2010, 4, University of Trier 2010, ISSN  1611-9487 , p. 27. ( PDF file )
  8. ↑ Press release from the Central Office for IT and Multimedia, February 24, 2011 . Ministry of the Interior, for Sport and Infrastructure, Rhineland-Palatinate. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  9. ↑ User statistics, collected by the company Kronenwett & Adolphs.
  10. ↑ 6th Summer Course Theory, Methods and Applications of Social Networks. The measurement of personal networks . Barcelona, ​​9-13. July 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012
  11. ↑ Event overview on the VennMaker homepage . Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  12. ↑ Jansen, Dorothea: Introduction to network analysis. Basics, methods, research examples , Wiesbaden, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2006, p. 80. ISBN 978-3-531-15054-3
  13. ↑ Gamper, Markus / Kronenwett, Michael / Schönhuth, Michael: Bringing qualitative and quantitative data together. Collecting and analyzing network data with the help of the software tool VennMaker In: Safar, Maytham / Mahdi, Khaled A. (Eds.): Social Networking and Community Behavior Modeling. Qualitative and quantitative measures . Hershey, Idea Group Reference 2012, pp. 193-213.
  14. ^ Kronenwett, Michael / Schönhuth, Michael: VennMaker 1.2, user manual. Trier 2011. ( PDF file )
  15. ↑ Kahn, Robert L./Antonucci, Toni C .: convoys over the life course: Attachment, roles, and social support in: Paul Baltes / Orville G. Brim (ed.): Life span development and behavior . Vol. 3. New York, Academic Press 1980, pp. 253-286.
  16. ↑ Gamper, Markus / Kronenwett, Michael: Visual survey of ego-centered networks with the help of digital network maps. In: Kulin, Sabrina / Frank, Keno / Fickermann, Detlef / Schwippert, Knut (eds.): Social network analysis. Theory - Methods - Practice . Münster, Waxmann 2012, pp. 151–166. ISBN 978-3-8309-2672-6 .
  17. ^ NN: VennMaker - Computer-aided representation and analysis of social networks. In: Information brochure of the research cluster of the Universities of Trier and Mainz "Social dependencies and social networks", University of Trier 2009, p. 39. ( PDF file )
  18. ↑ Herz, Andreas / Gamper, Markus: Possibilities and limits of the survey of egocentric networks in the online questionnaire and via digital network cards. In: Gamper, Markus / Reschke, Linda / Schönhuth, Michael (eds.): Knots and Edges 2.0. Social network analysis in media research and cultural anthropology . Bielefeld, transcript 2012, pp 57-87. ISBN 978-3-8376-1927-0 .
  19. ^ A b Düring, Marten / Bixler, Matthias / Kronenwett, Michael / Stark, Martin: VennMaker for Historians: Sources, Social Networks and Software In: Redes. Revista hispana para el análisis de redes sociales 21.2011, 8th ISSN  1579-0185 .
  20. ↑ Eckenhofer, Eva Maria (2011): Outlining the Benefits of Strategic Networking. In: Journal of Systems Integration 2.2011, 4, pp. 70-86. ISSN  1804-2724 ( PDF file )
  21. ^ Schnegg, Michael / Lang, Hartmut: Network analysis. A practice-oriented introduction . Methods of Ethnography 1. NWA 1.3 2002. ISSN  1618-6338 ( PDF file )
  22. ↑ Haselmair, Ruth sources and transmission of knowledge. An investigation using personal network cards In: Gamper, Markus / Reschke, Linda / Schönhuth, Michael (eds.): Knots and Edges 2.0. Social network analysis in media research and cultural anthropology Bielefeld, transcript 2012, S 259-283. ISBN 978-3-8376-1927-0 .
  23. ^ Hauck, Jennifer / Schiffer, Eva: Between Intuition and Indicators. Using Net-Map for Visual and Qualitative Social Network Analysis In: Gamper, Markus / Reschke, Linda / Schönhuth, Michael (Eds.): Knots and Edges 2.0. Social network analysis in media research and cultural anthropology Bielefeld, transcript 2012, pp. 231–257. ISBN 978-3-8376-1927-0 .