Int. J. Knowledge and Learning, Vol. 3, Nos. 4/5, 2007 465 Copyright © 2007 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Social network analysis of self-taught e-learning communities Andrew Laghos* and Panayiotis Zaphiris Centre for HCID, City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK Fax: +44-(0)20-7040-8859 E-mail: dr847@soi.city.ac.uk E-mail: zaphiri@soi.city.ac.uk *Corresponding author Abstract: The technique of Social Network Analysis (SNA) has been for years used extensively in the fields of sociology and communication research. Recently however, SNA has been extended to study online communication and virtual communities. In this paper, we have used SNA to analyse the social networks that have formed around a self-taught e-learning community. In traditional face-to-face learning environments, the students are part of a classroom where there is a teacher who presents the lectures and supervises the communication interactions. But what happens when the learning takes place online and there is no teacher to mentor the process? We have carried out SNA on such a community with the aim of discovering what roles, groups and characteristics the students take on when there is no teacher present and discuss the implications of our results. Keywords: social networks; online communities; computer-mediated communication; social network analysis; SNA; knowledge and learning; social interaction; learning environments; centrality; cliques; cohesion; cooperative and collaborative learning. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Laghos, A. and Zaphiris, P. (2007) ‘Social network analysis of self-taught e-learning communities’, Int. J. Knowledge and Learning, Vol. 3, Nos. 4/5, pp.465–482. Biographical notes: Andrew Laghos has joined the Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design in October 2003 at London’s City University and is pursuing a PhD in the areas of Social Network Analysis, Computer Mediated Communication and Computer Aided Language Learning. He is an MSc in Interactive Multimedia, a BSc in Computer Science (with emphasis in Information Management) and a certificate in Website Development. His research interests include e-learning, website design, HCI, online communities, music (both computerised and live) and communication via the web. Panayiotis Zaphiris is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Human–Computer Interaction Design. Before joining City University, he was a Researcher at the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University from where he received his PhD in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). His research interests lie in Human–Computer Interaction with an emphasis on inclusive design and social aspects of computing. He is especially interested in HCI issues related to the elderly and people with disabilities. He is also interested in internet related