TY - JOUR
T1 - Correlation distances in social networks
AU - MacCarron, Pádraig
AU - Mannion, Shane
AU - Platini, Thierry
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s).
PY - 2023/6/1
Y1 - 2023/6/1
N2 - In this work, we explore degree assortativity in complex networks, and extend its usual definition beyond that of nearest neighbours. We apply this definition to model networks, and describe a rewiring algorithm that induces assortativity. We compare these results to real networks. Social networks in particular tend to be assortatively mixed by degree in contrast to many other types of complex networks. However, we show here that these positive correlations diminish after one step and in most of the empirical networks analysed. Properties besides degree support this, such as the number of papers in scientific coauthorship networks, with no correlations beyond nearest neighbours. Beyond next-nearest neighbours we also observe a disassortative tendency for nodes three steps away indicating that nodes at that distance are more likely different than similar.
AB - In this work, we explore degree assortativity in complex networks, and extend its usual definition beyond that of nearest neighbours. We apply this definition to model networks, and describe a rewiring algorithm that induces assortativity. We compare these results to real networks. Social networks in particular tend to be assortatively mixed by degree in contrast to many other types of complex networks. However, we show here that these positive correlations diminish after one step and in most of the empirical networks analysed. Properties besides degree support this, such as the number of papers in scientific coauthorship networks, with no correlations beyond nearest neighbours. Beyond next-nearest neighbours we also observe a disassortative tendency for nodes three steps away indicating that nodes at that distance are more likely different than similar.
KW - assortativity
KW - correlation distances
KW - social networks
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85162264530&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/comnet/cnad016
DO - 10.1093/comnet/cnad016
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85162264530
SN - 2051-1310
VL - 11
JO - Journal of Complex Networks
JF - Journal of Complex Networks
IS - 3
M1 - cnad016
ER -