Coming soon · Book Profile
Handbook of Graphs and Networks in People Analytics
A practical handbook teaching the theory and applied methods of graph and network analysis for studying people, groups and organizations, with worked examples in R and Python.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Most of us live inside huge graphs—social networks, family trees, communication systems—yet few people know how to analyze the network structures that shape connection, influence and information flow in organizations. This handbook by Keith McNulty demystifies graph and network analysis for students and practitioners in the social, organizational and people-analytics fields, explaining just enough theory to support analytical curiosity while teaching the concrete, reproducible methods needed to create, visualize and analyze graphs using freely available open-source tools. From building graphs out of messy rectangular data, to computing paths, distance, centrality, communities and cliques, to persisting data in graph databases, the book grounds every concept in real example datasets and runnable code. Readers finish able to apply network thinking to organizational problems such as onboarding new hires, encouraging diverse collaboration, finding influential employees, detecting communities, and identifying superconnectors—without expensive proprietary software.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- A technical practitioner, analyst, student or researcher who wants to understand and analyze connections among people, groups and organizations.
- The problem
- Their data is stored in transactional/rectangular form and they lack the skills to model, visualize and analyze relationships as networks. They feel that network analysis is an esoteric 'dark art' beyond their reach and worry they need expensive specialist software.
- The plan
- Learn elementary graph theory and how to create graph objects from data.
- Visualize graphs effectively using layouts and styling.
- Restructure existing data into graph-friendly edge and vertex sets.
- Measure paths, distance, centrality, communities and cliques.
- Persist data in graph databases for repeatable analysis.
- The payoff
- The reader can confidently build, visualize and analyze networks to solve organizational problems like onboarding, diverse collaboration and finding influencers. · They can democratize network analysis in their organization and have more productive, data-fluent conversations. · They no longer need expensive vendor software to derive rigorous network insights.
See our guide
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Additional reading
- The Organism · Kurt Goldstein
Maslow sources the term 'self-actualization' from Goldstein and builds upon his holistic view of the organism.
- Explorations in Personality · H. A. Murray, et al.
Cited as providing an 'excellent discussion' on the basic principle of centering motivation theory on goals rather than instigation or behavior.
- Social Interest · Alfred Adler
Maslow credits Adler and his followers for stressing the importance of the 'esteem needs,' which he felt were neglected by Freudian psychoanalysts.
- Wisdom of the Body · W. B. Cannon
Provides the foundational concept of 'homeostasis,' which Maslow uses as the starting point for his discussion of physiological needs.
- Multipliers · Liz Wiseman
Explores how leaders can either amplify ('multiply') or diminish ('diminish') the intelligence and capabilities of their teams, a key concept for creating a positive, low-anxiety environment.
- The Fearless Organization · Amy Edmondson
Provides the foundational research and practical steps for creating psychological safety, which the book identifies as crucial for reducing interpersonal anxiety and encouraging people to speak up.
- Mindset · Carol Dweck
Explains the difference between a 'growth mindset' and a 'fixed mindset,' which is presented as a key tool for helping employees manage perfectionism and see failures as learning opportunities.
- Crucial Conversations · Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, et al.
Recommended as a resource for employees to learn how to navigate difficult, high-stakes conversations, directly addressing the book's theme of moving from conflict avoidance to healthy debate.
- Better Allies · Karen Catlin
The author is quoted on specific, actionable steps for allyship, making her book a practical guide for implementing the principles in Chapter 7.
- Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People · Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald
Explains the science of implicit bias, which is central to the book's argument that leaders need to be proactive allies because 'not being racist/sexist' isn't enough.