is a term used for the theoretical concept as used in social/behavioral academic sciences. This concept defines a social structure as made up of a set or group of participants and determined by such interactions. These could be made up of individuals or organizations or a mix of both. The study of these structures uses social network analysis to identify local and global patterns, locate influential entities, and examine network dynamics.
An axiom of the social network approach to understanding social interaction is that social phenomena should be primarily conceived and investigated through the properties of relations between and within units, instead of the properties of these units themselves.
One common criticism of social network theory is that individual agency is often ignored. This is supported by the identification of many different types of relations, singular or in combination that form these network configurations. Network analytics can be useful in determining these relationships and in some cases quantify various social networking theories. In the social sciences fields of study, methods for determining and defining these relationships is constantly evolving.
Social network analysis not only has become one of the major paradigms in contemporary sociology academia, it has also become an integral part of many successful social media marketing strategies.