Co-authorship networks: An introduction

Abstract

In this chapter we introduce and formally define co-authorship networks. Formal definitions of co-authorship networks as undirected graphs, directed graphs and hypergraphs are given. Different schemes to assign weights to co-authorship links are also discussed. Then, we give a classification of co-authorship networks according to the type of research collaboration they represent. Finally, the main applications of co-authorship networks are outlined.