Who is collaborating with whom? Part I. Mathematical model and methods for empirical testing

There are two versions in the literature of counting co-author pairs. Whereas the first version leads to a two-dimensional (2-D) power function distribution; the other version shows three-dimensional (3-D) graphs, totally rotatable around and their shapes are visible in space from all possible points of view. As a result, these new 3-D computer graphs, called “Social Gestalts” deliver more comprehensive information about social network structures than simple 2-D power function distributions. The mathematical model of Social Gestalts and the corresponding methods for the 3-D visualization and animation of collaboration networks are presented in Part I of this paper. Fundamental findings in psychology/sociology and physics are used as a basis for the development of this model.

[1]  Alfred J. Lotka,et al.  The frequency distribution of scientific productivity , 1926 .

[2]  S. Bradford.  "Sources of information on specific subjects" by S.C. Bradford , 1985 .

[3]  Peter Conrad,et al.  Collaboration in Academic Medicine: Reflections on Gender and Advancement , 2009, Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

[4]  H. Kretschmer,et al.  Studies in Co-authorship Pairs Distribution: Part-2 , 2008 .

[5]  D. Price.  Little Science, Big Science , 1965 .

[6]  H. Kretschmer,et al.  Co-author pairs’ frequencies distribution in journals of gender studies , 2008 .

[7]  Michael Grüninger,et al.  Introduction , 2002, CACM.

[8]  Bülent Özel,et al.  Co-authorship pair distribution patterns by gender , 2013, Scientometrics.

[9]  Svein Kyvik,et al.  Child Care, Research Collaboration, and Gender Differences in Scientific Productivity , 1996 .

[10]  Steven A. Morris,et al.  Manifestation of research teams in journal literature: A growth model of papers, authors, collaboration, coauthorship, weak ties, and Lotka's law , 2007, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[11]  Hildrun Kretschmer,et al.  Distribution of Co-Author Pairs’ Frequencies of the Journal of Information Technology , 2008 .

[12]  Marko A. Rodriguez,et al.  Collaboration in sensor network research: an in-depth longitudinal analysis of assortative mixing patterns , 2009, Scientometrics.

[13]  Adriana Valente,et al.  Scientific and Technological Performance by Gender , 2004 .

[14]  G. Melin.  Pragmatism and self-organization: Research collaboration on the individual level , 2000 .

[15]  Hildrun Kretschmer,et al.  Similarities and Dissimilarities in Coauthorship Networks: Gestalt Theory as Explanation for Well-ordered Collaboration Structures and Production of Scientific Literature , 2002, Libr. Trends.

[16]  M. E. J. Newman,et al.  Power laws, Pareto distributions and Zipf's law , 2005 .

[17]  Hildrun Kretschmer,et al.  Growth and Structure Formation of Collaboration Patterns Obtained from the Journals PNAS, SCIENCE and the Journal of Experimental Medicine , 2014 .

[19]  W. Metzger,et al.  Gestalt-Psychologie : ausgewählte Werke aus den Jahren 1950 bis 1982 , 1986 .

[20]  Hildrun Kretschmer,et al.  Connection and stratification in research collaboration: An analysis of the COLLNET network , 2006, Inf. Process. Manag..

[21]  Hildrun Kretschmer,et al.  Gender bias in journals of gender studies , 2012, Scientometrics.

[22]  M. Newman.  Power laws, Pareto distributions and Zipf's law , 2005 .

[23]  Hildrun Kretschmer,et al.  A new model of scientific colloboration part 1. Theoretical approach , 1999, Scientometrics.

[24]  Hildrun Kretschmer,et al.  Who Is Collaborating with Whom in Science? Explanation of a Fundamental Principle , 2013 .

[25]  Fritjof Capra.  Wendezeit. Bausteine für ein neues Weltbild. , 1999 .

[26]  Hildrun Kretschmer,et al.  Lotka's distribution and distribution of co-author pairs' frequencies , 2007, J. Informetrics.