[1] INSNA was founded in 1977 by Barry Wellman, a sociologist.
A key function of the organization was to provide a sense of identity for a set of researchers who were widely dispersed geographically and across scientific disciplines.
[2] A full chronology of INSNA leadership is as follows:[citation needed] Shortly after INSNA was founded, Linton C. Freeman founded the association's flagship journal, Social Networks, in 1978.
[3] As of 2018, INSNA has approximately 1,000 active members, while the SOCNET[4] listserv has about 3700 subscribers.
[5] As well as publishing a triannual journal Connections on the subject, INSNA also: