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Organizational Research Methods
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Auditing Information Structures in Organizations: A Review of Data Collection Techniques for Network Analysis

Karen H. Zwijze-Koning

University of Twente

Menno D. T. de Jong

University of Twente

Network analysis is one of the current techniques for investigating organizational communication. Despite the amount of how-to literature about using network analysis to assess information flows and relationships in organizations, little is known about the methodological strengths and weaknesses of the underlying data collection techniques. This article reviews the methodological literature on methods that may be used for network analysis. For each technique, reliability and validity issues are discussed, as well as the applicability for organizational research questions.

Key Words: organizational communication • communication audit • network analysis • methodology • reliability • validity

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Organizational Research Methods, Vol. 8, No. 4, 429-453 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1094428105280120
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