Research question

Last compiled on oktober, 2022

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0.1 Research question

ICT has had an influence on social networks (Licoppe & Smoreda, 2005). Social media can activate latent ties or develop and strengthen weak ties (Haythornthwaite, 2002) and therefore provides opportunities to develop new ties. As the internet makes it possible to connect with others worldwide, being less limited to spatial connections with others (Tranos, 2020). When translating this to data about scientists, increased opportunities to communicate online may have created new collaborations between co-authors that may have not happened if there was no internet. This could have an influence on the density of networks as well: It is now easier to collaborate with new people based on certain research ideas, which may limit repeated co-authorships and therefore decreases density. Furthermore, scientists have become less bounded by spatial restrictions, as it is now easier to collaborate with scientists all over the world. This could lead to social networks that are geographically broader than they were before internet was used to collaborate. Therefore, I would like to focus on the following research questions:

How has the density of social networks between co-authors changed between 2002 and 2022 (as a result of ICT)?

How has the spatiality within social networks between co-authors changed between 2002 and 2022 (as a result of ICT)?

Societally relevant because it can say something about cohesion if networks become less dense due to more ICT. Also, it is important to study the influence of a more digitalized society (also on academics). Scientifically relevant because internet can be a “new” important criterion of selection between ego’s and alters. Relevant to study this with SNA as it maps how exactly networks change as a result of internet, whereas studies that make no use of SNA are only able to provide insights in internet use on the macro level and cohesion on the macro level. These research questions are mostly part of the “selection” literature within SNA (( tolsma2010naar?)).

(Will move these to references document later)

Haythornthwaite, C.(2002). Strong, Weak, and Latent Ties and the Impact of New Media. The Information Society, 18(5), 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240290108195 Licoppe, C., & Smoreda, Z. (2005). Are social networks technologically embedded?: How networks are changing today with changes in communication technology. Social Networks, 27(4), 317–335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2004.11.001 Tranos, E. (2020). Social Network Sites and Knowledge Transfer: An Urban Perspective. Journal of Planning Literature, 35(4), 408–422. https://doi.org/10.1177/0885412220921526

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1 References