Our methodology involves first capturing all interactions. We have found it most efficient to use video. We then review the captured interactions, "chunking" them into discernible units of analysis that we have described as nodes. The next step is to record information related to the specifics that constitute each node and combine these to form a network of interactions. The last step in the development of a network is then to trace the historical development of a particular issue at hand, practice, or resource (conceptual, social, or physical) over time by graphing out all the related nodes to a selected tracer and examining its path. In this step, tracers are selected and the collection of nodes is re-analyzed to generate a network consisting of various nodes and links, which represent the historical development of each tracer.

In our paper, we begin with a discussion of situated cognition and what it means to capture an "interactional" unit of analysis. We then discuss the sociological approach of actor-network theory, which provides the theoretical framework within which our Constructing Networks of Activity (CNA) methodology is grounded. From here, the general categories and approach of the CNA methodology are described. We then ground our discussion within the context of our research by instantiating the general categories with actual labels. Example interactions are described and coded to illuminate nuances and applications of this methodological tool. A discussion of the strengths, weaknesses, and implications for research are then forwarded.