Conducting Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research: A Review of Recent Scholarship <s> Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research <s> This article offers an empirical articulation of paradigmatic views that guide research in contemporary public administration. Based on the findings, the authors argue that the debate on whether there is an intellectual core in public administration is becoming less relevant. What is more important from this point on is public administration scholars’ self-consciousness and better articulation of these existing paradigms. A self-aware normal science practice in public administration offers us a clearer research focus, a sharper sensitivity for recognizing anomalies, and thus a better chance for advancing public administration theories. <s> BIB001 </s> Conducting Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research: A Review of Recent Scholarship <s> Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research <s> This article identifies and describes the development of three parallel streams of literature about network theory and research: social network analysis, policy change and political science networks, and public management networks. Noting that these traditions have sometimes been inattentive to each other's work, the authors illustrate the similarities and differences in the underlying theoretical assumptions, types of research questions addressed, and research methods typically employed by the three traditions. The authors draw especially on the social network analysis (sociological) tradition to provide theoretical and research insights for those who focus primarily on public management networks. The article concludes with recommendations for advancing current scholarship on public management networks. <s> BIB002 </s> Conducting Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research: A Review of Recent Scholarship <s> Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research <s> This article examines the problem of effective interagency communication among organizations and the role of information technologies to achieve effective communication and decision-making goals in emergencies. It explores what factors contribute to effective interorganizational communication and decision making and what factors inhibit their development. The theoretical framework draws on the literature of emergency communication and social capital, with a particular focus on communication and decision making under conditions of uncertainty. The study applies this framework to study the relationships that emerged among public, private, and non-profit organizations following the World Trade Center disaster on September 11, 2001, in New York City. The article indicates the importance of developing a strong communication system with other organizations before a disaster occurs to establish appropriate communication in which effective interagency coordination will take place at the time of a disaster. <s> BIB003 </s> Conducting Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research: A Review of Recent Scholarship <s> Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research <s> This article advances two general hypotheses, bonding and bridging, to explain the process by which local governments decide whether to enter into contracts. The characteristics of goods and services are important factors in these decisions. In high asset-specificity transactions, the bridging hypothesis predicts local governments will establish ties with only a few “high status” actors, whereas in transactions for services with measurement difficulties, the bonding hypothesis predicts local governments will establish ties with partners of their existing partners to pool resources and reduce commitment risks. The general hypotheses are tested using agreements for law enforcement activities linking 66 actors in the Orlando-Kissimmee metropolitan area during five time periods (i.e., between 1986 and 2003). Using simulation investigation network analysis (SIENA) techniques, this study finds strong statistical support for these hypotheses. <s> BIB004 </s> Conducting Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research: A Review of Recent Scholarship <s> Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research <s> Social network analysis and centrality measures are used with the UCINET software program to analyze the outcomes of an evolving collaborative network through the relationship structures and processes of an interorganizational governance network. The study data were collected from content analyses of newspapers, situation reports, and organizational documents. In the context of disaster response networks, the structure and performance of the planned networks are compared to the actual networks. The results indicate that the September 11 response network's performance differed from that of the Federal Response Plan network and that the outcomes of the Hurricane Katrina response network showed different structures from those of the National Response Plan. The insights generated about the structural differences between these formal versus informal and planned versus actual networks demonstrate the utility of the measurements of network performance outcomes discussed here. <s> BIB005 </s> Conducting Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research: A Review of Recent Scholarship <s> Content Analysis of Documents in Network Research <s> This study describes the interlocking networks of corporate directors serving on publicly listed corporate boards and those on the boards of nonprofit organizations in Western Australia in 2006. When this study was undertaken, the state was the beneficiary of a booming economy in resource development prior to the global financial crisis, yielding a substantial number of resource companies with their headquarters in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. Through social network analysis using NetDraw, we trace the extent of interpersonal connections of prominent individuals who serve on these boards in this relatively isolated state in Australia. The network figures demonstrate the inner circle of companies and nonprofits with their interlocking directorships that suggest the growing interpenetration among the state, the market, and civil society. As a result of reduced government funding during the last two decades in Western Australia, nonprofit organizations have had to use market strategies to increase their revenues, which is one factor that has led to this greater interdependence between previously separate groups. Thus, market forces have blurred the boundaries that once separated private companies from nonprofit organizations, increasing the interlocking nature of their board directors. <s> BIB006
Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are used in network analyses. Quantitative approaches have strengths in investigating large-scale network formation and structures, testing theories, and explaining networking patterns. Qualitative approaches allow for exploring new or understudied network phenomena and observing actual networking behaviors, as well as studying network patterns and processes. Qualitative approaches can also help researchers understand actors' interpretations and perceptions of networks, and explore behind-the-scenes reasons for the formation of network ties and the dynamics of networks  . Qualitative data go beyond numerical network data to provide information about why actors participate in networks and about how they interact with other actors and engage in network activities. Qualitative approaches have strengths in providing contextual information and in assisting the interpretation of quantitative network measures. Qualitative approaches can also provide more in-depth information about the "content," "quality," "meaning," and "changes" of ties (Edwards, 2010, p. 18) . Some researchers suggest that both approaches should be used in mixed-methods designs. They have also shown that mixed-methods designs allow for data triangulation to improve data, explanatory power, and generalizability  . There is an array of qualitative research strategies for network data collection and analysis. For instance, researchers can use observations, interviews, and documents to collect network data  . In this study I focused on the use of documents and content analysis for network research. Documents, including government plans and reports, organizational publications, journal articles, newspaper articles, and websites, can provide useful information for researchers to address a variety of questions. Content analysis refers to a technique that systematically analyzes textual data for "making replicable and valid inferences from texts (or other meaningful matter) to the contexts of their use" (Krippendorff, 2012, p. 24) . Content analysis is an investigative tool that includes the use of explicitly formulated rules and procedures for the coding process  . When they conduct content analysis of texts, researchers need to develop their coding schemata by clarifying their research purposes and by defining their coding units, coding themes, coding categories, and coding rules. Many public administration scholars analyzed documents to address a variety of questions  , and many conducted content analyses of publications to examine key research topics and the evolution of research in the field. For example,  conducted a content analysis of a sample of publications from Public Administration Review from 1940 through 1991 to identify "mainstream" public administration topics. BIB001 conducted a content analysis of 634 articles in eight public administration journals from 1993 through 1995 to examine key subjects, academic backgrounds of public administration scholars, epistemological approaches, data collection and analysis methods, and identifiable paradigms. In addition to examining the development of research in the field, scholars also have analyzed government documents to understand management practices and policy implementation.  analyzed 10 state information technology strategic plans to examine the value orientation embedded in these strategic plans. To evaluate the implementation of public management reform,  conducted a systematic content analysis of managing for results documents, including government budgets, strategic plans, and performance reports. Yet, these content analyses were conducted to draw conventional management or policy implementation data, which do not involve interactions between actors or relational data. In network research, documents can also serve as primary sources of information or can complement existing network data. Documents and archival data are relatively easy to access and cost less than a large-scale survey approach for data collection  . The availability of large stores of social media data presents new opportunities for researchers to draw unique network data and to explore new research questions  . Although public administration has seen an increase in the use of documents and content analyses in network research, their uses remain limited, especially compared with the use of surveys and interviews. The content analyses of documents can help researchers identify lists of participants for conducting surveys or qualitative interviews, draw network connections between actors, and examine network structures (e.g., BIB003 BIB005 . For instance, an analysis of a situation report of a disaster response may detail interorganizational interactions in response to a disaster (e.g., BIB003 ). An analysis of an inter-local service delivery report may document an intergovernmental collaboration in delivering public services (e.g., BIB004 ). An analysis of an organizational directory may present information about the interlocking boards BIB006 . Despite the well-established need for more qualitative network research and the availability of relevant documents in various formats BIB002  , documents remain an underused source of information for network research. Few articles have evaluated the use of documents and content analysis in network research. To fill this gap, in this study I present a systematic review of the existing network research that used documents and content analysis. I do not only evaluate the quality of network data drawn from documents but also identify the potential and challenges in conducting content analysis of documents for network research.