Authors: Lennart Björneborn
Publish Date: 2013/06/20
Volume: 68, Issue: 3, Pages: 395-414
Abstract
Combining webometric and social network analytic approaches this study developed a methodology to sample and identify Web links pages and sites that function as smallworld connectors affecting short link distances along link paths between different topical domains in an academic Web space The data set comprised 7669 subsites harvested from 109 UK universities A novel coronashaped Web graph model revealed reachability structures among the investigated subsites Shortest link path netsfunctioned as investigable smallworld link structures mini small worlds generated by deliberate juxtaposition of topically dissimilar subsites Indicative findings suggest that personal Web page authors and computer science subsites may be important smallworld connectors across sites and topics in an academic Web space Such connectors may counteract balkanization of the Web into insularities of disconnected and unreachable subpopulations
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