Co-authorship Networks in Academic Research Communities: The Role of Network Strength

Abstract

Educational institutions increasingly need to assess and enhance their activities, in order to improve research effectiveness and measure future capability as well as past performance. Research effectiveness is, among others, an important indicator of the quality assurance process in Higher Education. This study examines the research collaboration structures within a Higher Education academic unit, over a four-year period, with the aim of supporting institutional evaluation and reaching a deeper understanding of the process by which academics share research activities. Our approach focuses on the analysis and visualization of the relationships that exist among authors as well as of the researchers' activity and participativeness in intra and inter-institutional research groups.