The relationship between acquaintanceship and coauthorship in scientific collaboration networks

TL;DR

This study explores how personal acquaintanceship influences coauthorship patterns in scientific collaboration networks, highlighting the significance of local, personal relationships in fostering collaborative research across disciplines and institutions.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of acquaintanceship and coauthorship networks, revealing the crucial role of personal relationships in scientific collaboration.

Findings

Personal acquaintanceship correlates with coauthorship patterns.

Local, small-scale networks are vital for scientific collaboration.

Acquaintanceship networks influence community structure in research collaborations.

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between acquaintanceship and coauthorship patterns in a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, geographically distributed research center. Two social networks are constructed and compared: a network of coauthorship, representing how researchers write articles with one another, and a network of acquaintanceship, representing how those researchers know each other on a personal level, based on their responses to an online survey. Statistical analyses of the topology and community structure of these networks point to the importance of small-scale, local, personal networks predicated upon acquaintanceship for accomplishing collaborative work in scientific communities.