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 ENA는 Quantitative Ethnography (QE)와 Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA)의 이론 및 방법론 연구를 바탕으로 합니다. QE, ENA 및 webENA 도구의 토대를 마련하고 지속적인 발전에 기여해 온 University of Wisconsin–Madison, David Williamson Shaffer 교수, 그리고 Wisconsin Center for Education Research에 소속된 Epistemic Analytics Lab의 연구자, 소프트웨어 개발자 및 협력자 여러분께 깊이 감사드립니다.
ENA는 의미 있는 맥락 안에서 코딩된 요소들이 함께 나타나는 양상을 분석하여 연결 네트워크를 구성하고, 네트워크의 시각화와 통계적 비교를 지원합니다. (Shaffer et al., 2016)
Open ENA는 이러한 연구를 기반으로 코딩된 데이터, 모델 설정, 네트워크 비교를 브라우저의 연구 작업 흐름으로 구성합니다. 연구자는 연구 질문, 코딩의 근거, 원래의 질적 자료를 함께 고려하여 결과를 해석해야 합니다. (Shaffer & Ruis, 2017)
인터페이스 디자인의 출처: webENA
Open ENA 팀은 이 플랫폼의 초기 인터페이스 외관과 배치를 정할 때 webENA 도구를 사용하고 참고했습니다. 이 초기 인터페이스의 참고 원천이 미국 위스콘신주 매디슨(Madison, Wisconsin, USA)의 원래 ENA 연구팀과 그 팀의 webENA 디자인 작업에 있음을 명확히 밝힙니다.
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