Social Analysis of the SEKE Co-Author Network

Abstract

We extract the co-author network over the entire history of the SEKE conference from 1988 through 2014. In this network, authors represent nodes and a pair of authors is connected by an edge if they have co-authored at least one article over the entire duration. We analyze this network using socio-centric and ego-centric network methods to study the extent to which the authors are involved in the SEKE community, and the patterns of collaboration between them. Socio-centric analysis reveals that most authors publish a very small number of articles, and collaborate within tightly knit circles. In fact, only a tiny fraction of the authors consistently return to SEKE to disseminate their research. Ego-centric measures of centrality confirm these findings by revealing that only a small percentage of the authors are structurally dominant, and influence the flow of communication among others. Based on these findings, we believe that strategically SEKE could benefit from cultivating a wider base of influential authors, promoting broader collaborations, and encouraging one-time authors to return.