This paper considers the arguments for adopting a mixed-method approach to network
analysis, firstly as they arise out of the existing research literature, and secondly, as they have
been highlighted in explicit theoretical debates about combining quantitative and qualitative
data and analysis. By unpacking the different ways in which researchers have combined
quantitative and qualitative methods in network projects it also seeks to provide some
guidance for others on ‘how to’ mix methods in SNA. In particular, it reviews literature in
which quantitative SNA has been combined with interviews, ethnography and historical
archival research and considers the benefits of these strategies. On a theoretical note, the
paper considers suggestions that mixing quantitative and qualitative approaches can enable
researchers to explore the structure (or form) of networks from an ‘outsider’s’ view, and the
content and processes of networks from an ‘insider’s’ view. It also refers to recent
discussions which suggest that SNA offers a particular opportunity for mixing methods
because networks are both structure and process at the same time, and therefore evade simple
categorisation as either quantitative or qualitative phenomena.