Acad Med. 2024 Apr 1;99(4):452-465. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005620. Epub 2023 Dec 28.
Social network analysis (SNA) is a theoretical framework and analytical approach used to study relationships among individuals and groups. While SNA has been employed by many disciplines to understand social structures and dynamics of interpersonal relationships, little is known about its use in medical education. Mapping and synthesizing the scope of SNA in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education can inform educational practice and research.
This scoping review was based on searches conducted in Medline, Embase, Scopus, and ERIC in December 2020 and updated in March 2022. After removal of duplicates, the search strategy yielded 5,284 records, of which 153 met initial inclusion criteria. Team members conducted full-text reviews, extracted relevant data, and conducted descriptive and thematic analyses to determine how SNA has been used as a theoretical and analytical approach in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.
Thirty studies, from 11 countries, were retained. Most studies focused on undergraduate medical students, primarily in online environments, and explored students' friendships, information sharing, and advice seeking through SNA. Few studies included residents and attending staff. Findings suggested that SNA can be a helpful tool for monitoring students' interactions in online courses and clinical clerkships. SNA can also be used to examine the impact of social networks on achievement, the influence of social support and informal learning outside the classroom, and the role of homophily in learning. In clinical settings, SNA can help explore team dynamics and knowledge exchange among medical trainees.
While SNA has been underutilized in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, findings indicate that SNA can help uncover the structure and impact of social networks in the classroom and the clinical setting. SNA can also be used to help design educational experiences, monitor learning, and evaluate pedagogical interventions. Future directions for SNA research in medical education are described.
社会网络分析（SNA）是一种理论框架和分析方法，用于研究个体和群体之间的关系。虽然 SNA 已被许多学科用于了解人际关 系的社会结构和动态，但对于它在医学教育中的应用知之甚少。绘制和综合 SNA 在本科和研究生医学教育中的应用范围，可以为教育实践和研究提供信息。
本范围界定审查基于 2020 年 12 月在 Medline、Embase、Scopus 和 ERIC 中进行的搜索，并于 2022 年 3 月进行了更新。在去除重复项后，搜索策略产生了 5284 条记录，其中 153 条符合初始纳入标准。团队成员进行了全文审查，提取了相关数据，并进行了描述性和主题分析，以确定 SNA 如何作为一种理论和分析方法应用于本科和研究生医学教育。
从 11 个国家保留了 30 项研究。大多数研究都集中在本科医学生身上，主要是在在线环境中，通过 SNA 探索学生的友谊、信息共享和寻求建议。很少有研究包括住院医师和主治医生。研究结果表明，SNA 可以成为监测在线课程和临床实习中学生互动的有用工具。SNA 还可用于研究社会网络对成绩的影响、课堂外社会支持和非正式学习的影响，以及同质性在学习中的作用。在临床环境中，SNA 可以帮助探索医疗培训生的团队动态和知识交流。
尽管 SNA 在本科和研究生医学教育中的应用尚未得到充分利用，但研究结果表明，SNA 可以帮助揭示课堂和临床环境中社会网络的结构和影响。SNA 还可用于帮助设计教育体验、监测学习和评估教学干预措施。描述了医学教育中 SNA 研究的未来方向。
