Metadata Matters: Identifying Research Communities and Estimating Author Influence in Networks

12 Pages Posted: 9 Jun 2023 Last revised: 28 Jul 2023

See all articles by John Fitzgerald

John Fitzgerald

University of Oxford - Mathematical Institute

Date Written: June 2, 2023

Abstract

This work illustrates how clustering of author communities can be improved by using metadata about the authors (such as subject area or institutional affiliation) to supplement network structure based on co-authorship or citation relationships. Using such metadata can improve clustering significantly, both in terms of human interpretability and by allowing detection of smaller groups – but weighting metadata too highly in relation to network structure can be detrimental. The author communities uncovered may subsequently be used to better elucidate the effect of each author on their peers, and so help distinguish between influence and popularity.

Keywords: author communities, network structure, co-authorship clusters, clustering, author influence

Suggested Citation

Fitzgerald, John, Metadata Matters: Identifying Research Communities and Estimating Author Influence in Networks (June 2, 2023). International Center for the Study of Research Paper No. 2, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4471555 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4471555

John Fitzgerald (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Mathematical Institute ( email )

Radcliffe Observatory, Andrew Wiles Building
Woodstock Rd
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX2 6GG
United Kingdom

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