On the Correlation between Research Performance and Social Network Analysis Measures Applied to Research Collaboration Networks

TLDR: A theoretical model based on social network theory shows that scholars, who maintain a strong co-authorship relationship to only one co-author of a group of linked co-authors, perform better than those researchers with many relationships to the same group of links.

Abstract: In this study, we develop a theoretical model based on social network theory to understand how the collaboration (co-authorship) network of scholars correlates to the research performance of scholars. For this analysis, we use social network analysis (SNA) measures (i.e., normalized closeness centrality, normalized betweenness centrality, efficiency, and two types of degree centrality). The analysis of data shows that the research performance of scholars is positively correlated with two SNA measures (i.e., weighted degree centrality and efficiency). In particular, scholars with strong ties (i.e., repeated co-authorships, i.e., high weighted degree centrality) show a better research performance than those with low ties (e.g., single co-authorships with many different scholars). The results related to efficiency show that scholars, who maintain a strong co-authorship relationship to only one co-author of a group of linked co-authors (i.e., co-authors that have joined publications), perform better than those researchers with many relationships to the same group of linked co-authors.