Open ENA brings together learning science, quantitative ethnography, artificial intelligence, and educational technology.
We are building a transparent and approachable path into Epistemic Network Analysis—one where methods, interface decisions, and future capabilities can be inspected rather than hidden.
Why open
Openness is more than access.
It means making the path from evidence to interpretation visible: what the model receives, what the computation does, what the figure shows, and what it cannot claim.
A shared commitment to understandable research tools.
Dr. Peter HU Dongpin
The Education University of Hong Kong
Educational researcher · Application developer
His work spans technology-enhanced learning, learning analytics, artificial intelligence in education, network analysis, and content and language integrated learning.
ENA variants · Dimensionality-reduction algorithms
He has played a pioneering role in advancing ENA variants such as 3D ENA and dimensionality-reduction algorithms for ENA. As the key developer of 3D ENA 1.0, he combines computer science and psychology to develop interactive research tools.
A member of the Open ENA team affiliated with Meredith College, North Carolina, USA.
Project publications
Selected work across three-dimensional ENA, data literacy, and the development of open, web-based analysis tools.
Forthcoming conference paper · 2026
Design and development from rENA to jENA: Accelerating the creation of web-based Open ENA tools
Hu, D., Hamilton, E., Tu, Y. F., & Xu, Q. (2026, November). Design and development from rENA to jENA: Accelerating the creation of web-based Open ENA tools. [Conference paper]. International Conference on Quantitative Ethnography.
ICQE 2026 · Publication details forthcoming
Journal article · 2025
Effects on the learning achievement, approaches to learning, and multi-stage reflection quality of students with different levels of digital self-efficacy in a data literacy course: An ARCS-based self-reflective online learning model
Tu, Y. F., Hwang, G. J., & Hu, D. (2025). Effects on the learning achievement, approaches to learning, and multi-stage reflection quality of students with different levels of digital self-efficacy in a data literacy course: An ARCS-based self-reflective online learning model. Computers & Education, 238, 105397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105397
Development of ENA 3D: A tool for epistemic network analysis in three-dimensional space
Yu, J., Hu, D., & Wang, C. H. (2024). Development of ENA 3D: A tool for epistemic network analysis in three-dimensional space. In Y. J. Kim & Z. Swiecki (Eds.), Advances in quantitative ethnography (Communications in Computer and Information Science, Vol. 2278, pp. 152–165). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-76335-9_11
Open ENA は、Quantitative Ethnography (QE) と Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) の理論および方法論に関する研究に基づいています。QE、ENA、webENA ツールの基盤を築き、その継続的な発展に貢献してきた University of Wisconsin–Madison、David Williamson Shaffer 教授、ならびに Wisconsin Center for Education Research に所属する Epistemic Analytics Lab の研究者、ソフトウェア開発者、協力者の皆様に、深く感謝いたします。
ENA は、意味のある文脈の中でコーディングされた要素が共起するパターンを分析して関係のネットワークを構築し、その可視化と統計的比較を可能にします。 (Shaffer et al., 2016)
Open ENA はこれらの研究に基づき、コーディングされたデータ、モデル設定、ネットワーク比較をブラウザー上の研究ワークフローとしてまとめています。研究者は、研究上の問い、コーディングの根拠、元の質的資料を踏まえて結果を解釈する必要があります。 (Shaffer & Ruis, 2017)
インターフェースデザインの出典:webENA
Open ENA チームは、本プラットフォームの初期のインターフェースの外観とレイアウトを定める際に、webENA ツールを使用し、参考にしました。この初期のインターフェースの参考元が、米国ウィスコンシン州マディソン(Madison, Wisconsin, USA)の元の ENA 研究チームと、その webENA のデザインにあることを明示します。
Shaffer, D. W., Collier, W., & Ruis, A. R. (2016). A tutorial on epistemic network analysis: Analyzing the structure of connections in cognitive, social, and interaction data. Journal of Learning Analytics, 3(3), 9–45. https://doi.org/10.18608/jla.2016.33.3
Shaffer, D. W., & Ruis, A. R. (2017). Epistemic network analysis: A worked example of theory-based learning analytics. In C. Lang, G. Siemens, A. F. Wise, & D. Gašević (Eds.), Handbook of learning analytics (pp. 175–187). Society for Learning Analytics Research. https://doi.org/10.18608/hla17.015
Tan, Y., Hinojosa, C., Marquart, C., Ruis, A. R., & Shaffer, D. W. (2022). Epistemic network analysis visualization. In B. Wasson & S. Zörgő (Eds.), Advances in quantitative ethnography (pp. 129–143). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93859-8_9