A complex network perspective on the world science system

Abstract

This paper discusses capabilities for a systematic overview of world science delivered from the use of new output indicators of science and technology. The data may be usefully structured using a complex network perspective on national publication and international collaboration. This paper uses a random sample of publication data from 2009 to provide a timely update on world activities in science. A mixed predictive and descriptive approach is used in analyzing the data. A variety of methods including structural network analysis, and network regression, are used in the exploration of this sample. Insights are gained into key participants in world science, their positioning in a network of collaborative relationships, and the resultant morphology of the network which emerges from a mixture of random and geographic factors.