Social Network Analysis
A case study in using publication metrics and network analysis to study gender diversity and publication activity in STEM in the UK.
Recorded: 11th June 2025
Social network analysis (SNA) is the process of investigating social structures through the use of networks and graph theory. Examples include business networks, kinship, disease transmission, and social networks. Recorded on 11 June, Dr Yasaman Sarabi shared this method in an academic setting, with particular attention to gender diversity and inter-organisational collaboration.
“Gender diversity and publication activity – an analysis of STEM in the UK” by Yasaman Sarabi and Matthew Smith (Research Evaluation, 2023, 32, 321–331
https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvad008 looked at the interplay between gender diversity on projects funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and the publication activity of a project, as measured by the average journal quality of project publication output, over a 10-year period. The proportion of female representation and leadership on these projects remains very low. For the projects examined as part of this study, over 70% of these projects have no female representation, and less than 15% have a female lead. This study does not find a significant relationship between gender diversity and journal quality output. This study highlights that an important avenue for future
work is the development of alternative metrics to assess the performance of research projects in a discipline characterized by very low levels of gender diversity, to fully unpack the impact of project team gender diversity on project output activity.
Find out more about Social Network Analysis by visiting the SNA Scotland site – linked here.
Click here to watch
Click here to view the slides
Presenter:
Dr Yasaman Sarabi
Dr Sarabi is an Assistant Professor in Social Research Methods in the Doctoral Centre in the School of Social Sciences at Heriot-Watt University. Her area of expertise is in the application of complex quantitative methods to address problems within business and management settings. Her work focuses on the use of techniques from Social Network Analysis (SNA), such as Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs). Her published work covers a variety of areas and disciplinary intersections, including corporate governance, inter-organisational collaboration, international trade, leadership, and the science of science.
This lecture is part of a lunchtime seminar series on research methods in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) research. Stay tuned and subscribe to our mailing list (linked here) to receive details on future sessions.
Chaired by Dr Catherine Souch, Head of Research and Higher Education at the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).
Social Network Analysis
EDICa Seminar on Innovative Approaches to EDI Research: Social Network Analysis from 11 June 2025
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- Viverra nibh egestas. Sagittis, tempor a mattis lectus.
- Mattis blandit neque dui pharetra senectus consequat et tempus viverra.
- Sed laoreet sed augue facilisis venenatis ut.
Et felis convallis condimentum bibendum eget natoque sem. - Felis, pretium morbi rutrum a donec.
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EDICa hosts a regular blog and seminars, as well as collecting a library of resources of equality, diversity & inclusion practices in research & innovation.

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