Measuring Generalized Preferential Attachment in Dynamic Social Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces tools to empirically measure and analyze generalized preferential attachment in social networks, focusing on homophilic behavior in scientific collaboration networks, advancing understanding of social network formation.

Contribution

It develops methods to quantify generalized preferential attachment and applies them to real-world data, enabling more realistic social network models.

Findings

Evidence of homophilic behavior in scientific collaboration networks

Tools for measuring generalized preferential attachment

Insights into social network formation mechanisms

Abstract

The mechanism of preferential attachment underpins most recent social network formation models. Yet few authors attempt to check or quantify assumptions on this mechanism. We call generalized preferential attachment any kind of preference to interact with other agents with respect to any node property. We then introduce tools for measuring empirically and characterizing comprehensively such phenomena, and apply these tools to a socio-semantic network of scientific collaborations, investigating in particular homophilic behavior. This opens the way to a whole class of realistic and credible social network morphogenesis models.