Over one billion people are currently using social media such as social websites (Facebook Newsroom 2015); consequently, numerous academic scholars have developed interest in studying the use of social media and social networks. However, few studies have focused on examining the core factors of social networks. In this study, we collected studies on social-network-related topics that were published between January 1996 and December 2014, assembling a total of 2,565 articles and 81,316 citations. Co-citation analysis and cluster analysis were applied to verify seven main factors regarding social networks: (a) the measure of complex social networks; (b) community structure; (c) strong and weak ties; (d) the evolution of social networks; (e) network structure and relationship; (f) value concept and measurement strategies; and (g) social capital. Finally, the results of this study were further discussed to elucidate the core topics relevant to social networks.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.