Analyzing Network Maps: A Cross-Comparison between Student Demographic Groups through Outreach Programs

Recent research has shown the valuable impact on students between their facilitation of informal physics outreach programs and the development of their physics identity, sense of belonging, and development of essential 21st century career skills. Through a recent national survey sent to members of the Society of Physics Students responses were gathered to three open-ended questions sampling students' experiences through their engagement with outreach. To visualize statistically significant relationships between ideas expressed by students through the open-ended questions, we employed network analysis, drawing a web of interrelationships between connected ideas and themes. To evaluate the nuanced experiences of students based on differing background factors (e.g. gender, institution type) network maps were drawn for each subgroup to compare similarities and differences to their experiences. To analyze the various maps we conducted a broad search for systematic comparison methods across disciplines which employ mapping techniques. Here we will report on potential methods for systematic comparison of network maps, with particular attention to matrix difference calculations drawn from cognitive mapping techniques. Through this research, we expect to document how different identity groups are specifically impacted by informal learning methods, which themes stay consistent, and what ideas align more with different groups.