Summary
Overview
Key Readings
Small-world research started about fifty years ago with an idea about a social phenomenon: that any two randomly chosen individuals in a country, or in the world even, could be connected with each other via a relatively short chain of acquaintances. But since its formation, this idea has evolved and – despite research almost dying off in the 1980s – has now become an exciting and vital area of study. Following the publication of seminal research in the late 1990s, which shed new light on the question of how short connections are possible in large scale networks, researchers began to see the significance of their subject reflected in many different facets of existence; small-world structures were found in a number of distinct contexts, including, for ...
Editor's Introduction: Six Themes of ‘Six Degrees’
Small-world research is based on the famous idea that any pair of individuals can be connected by a short chain of intermediate acquaintances. To illustrate this idea, Milgram (1967) describes the chance encounter of two previously unacquainted men in Tunis: an American and an Englishman. Both are pleased, yet surprised, to find out that they share a common acquaintance in the United States. Many of us may have experienced similar encounters and expressed our surprise with a phrase like: “It's a small world, isn't it?” To take another fictitious example: My friend, an Italian student, has a professor at her home university whose acquaintance works in the administration of the Vatican. And this acquaintance has a friend in ...
Table of Contents
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Volume I
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The Small-World Phenomenon: An Introduction
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1. The Small World Problem: The Growth of a Research Idea
Karl Deutsch
1989
The Small World
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Judith Kleinfeld
2002
Kleinfeld Society
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4. The “New” Science of Networks
Duncan Watts
2004
Annual Review of Sociology
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Network Search
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a) Probing Network Structure: Milgram's Letter Referral Method
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Stanley Milgram
1967
Psychology Today
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6. An Experimental Study of the Small World Problem
Jeffrey Travers | Stanley Milgram
1969
Sociometry
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7. A Review of Small World Literature
H. Bernard | Peter Killworth
1979
Sociological Symposium
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8. An Experimental Study of Search in Global Social Networks
Peter Dodds | Roby Muhamad | Duncan Watts
2003
Science
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b) Targeted Search: Empirical Examples and the Algorithmic Small-World Problem
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10. Social Networks and Getting a Home: Do Contacts Matter?
Andrea Röper | Beate Völker | Henk Flap
2009
Social Networks
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Mark Granovetter
1973
American Journal of Sociology
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12. How to Search a Social Network
Lada Adamic | Eytan Adar
2005
Social Networks
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13. Identity and Search in Social Networks
Duncan Watts | Peter Dodds | M. Newman
2002
Science
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14. The Accuracy of Small World Chains in Social Networks
Peter Killworth | Christopher McCarty | H. Bernard | Mark House
2006
Social Networks
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A Complex Networks Approach to the Small-World Problem
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a) Network Topology: Small-World and Scale-Free Networks
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15. Collective Dynamics of “Small-World” Networks
Duncan Watts | Steven Strogatz
1998
Nature
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Albert-László Barabási | Eric Bonabeau
2003
Scientific American
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M. Newman
2000
Journal of Statistical Physics
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18. Classes of Small-World Networks
L. Amaral | A. Scala | M. Barthélémy | H. Stanley
2000
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
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19. Why Social Networks Are Different from Other Types of Networks
M. Newman | Juyong Park
2003
Physical Review E
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b) Characterizing Small-World Networks
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20. Network ‘Small-World-Ness’: A Quantitative Method for Determining Canonical Network Equivalence
Mark Humphries | Kevin Gurney
2008
PLoS ONE
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21. Efficient Behavior of Small-World Networks
Vito Latora | Massimo Marchiori
2001
Physical Review Letters
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22. Structural Fault Tolerance of Scale-Free Networks
Jingbo Hao | Jianping Yin | Boyun Zhang
2007
Tsinghua Science & Technology
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23. Economic Small-World Behavior in Weighted Networks
V. Latora | M. Marchiori
2003
The European Physical Journal B – Condensed Matter and Complex Systems
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Volume II
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A Complex Networks Approach to the Small-World Problem
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c) Network Evolution
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24. Emergence of Scaling in Random Networks
Albert-László Barabási | Réka Albert
1999
Science
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25. Six Degrees of “Who Cares?”
Rick Grannis
2010
American Journal of Sociology
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26. Effects of “Rich-Gets-Richer” Rule on Small-World Networks
Hongwei Dai | Shangce Gao | Yu Yang | Zheng Tang
2010
Neurocomputing
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27. Revisiting “Scale-Free” Networks
Evelyn Keller
2005
BioEssays
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d) Network Dynamics
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Christoph Hauert | György Szabó
2005
American Journal of Physics
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29. Complex Contagions and the Weakness of Long Ties
Damon Centola | Michael Macy
2007
American Journal of Sociology
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30. The Emperor's Dilemma: A Computational Model of Self-Enforcing Norms
Damon Centola | Robb Willer | Michael Macy
2005
American Journal of Sociology
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31. Networks, Dynamics, and the Small-World Phenomenon
Duncan Watts
1999
American Journal of Sociology
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32. Social Games in a Social Network
Guillermo Abramson | Marcelo Kuperman
2001
Physical Review E
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Multidisciplinary Applications
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a) Biology and Biochemistry
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33. Network Biology: Understanding the Cell's Functional Organization
Albert-László Barabási | Zoltán Oltvai
2004
Nature Reviews Genetics
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34. The Emergent Properties of a Dolphin Social Network
David Lusseau
2003
David Lusseau Proceedings of the Royal Society of London – Series B: Biological Sciences
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35. Small World Patterns in Food Webs
Jose Montoya | Ricard Solé
2002
Journal of Theoretical Biology
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36. Graph Theoretic Topology of the Great but Small Barrier Reef World
Stuart Kininmonth | Glenn De'ath | Hugh Possingham
2010
Theoretical Ecology
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37. Scale-Free Networks in Biology: New Insights into the Fundamentals of Evolution?
Yuri Wolf | Georgy Karev | Eugene Koonin
2002
BioEssays
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b) Neuroscience
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38. Small-World Brain Networks
Danielle Bassett | Ed Bullmore
2006
The Neuroscientist
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39. The Small World of the Cerebral Cortex
Olaf Sporns | Jonathan Zwi
2004
Neuroinformatics
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40. Delayed Feedback Control of Bursting Synchronization in a Scale-Free Neuronal Network
C. Batista | S. Lopes | R. Viana | A. Batista
2010
Neural Networks
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Willem de Haan | Yolande Pijnenburg | Rob Strijers | Yolande van der Made | Wiesje van der Flier | Philip Scheltens | Cornelis Stam
2009
BMC Neuroscience
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42. The Brainstem Reticular Formation Is a Small-World, Not Scale-Free, Network
M. Humphries | K. Gurney | T. Prescott
2006
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London – Series B: Biological Sciences
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Volume III
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Multidisciplinary Applications
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c) Epidemiology
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43. Networks and Epidemic Models
Matt Keeling | Ken Eames
2005
Journal of the Royal Society Interface
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44. The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years
Nicholas Christakis | James Fowler
2007
The New England Journal of Medicine
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45. The Impacts of Network Topology on Disease Spread
Mark Shirley | Steve Rushton
2005
Ecological Complexity
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46. Modelling Development of Epidemics with Dynamic Small-World Networks
Jari Saramäki | Kimmo Kaski
2005
Journal of Theoretical Biology
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47. Small World Effect in an Epidemiological Model
Marcelo Kuperman | Guillermo Abramson
2001
Physical Review Letters
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d) Computer Science
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48. Spatial Small Worlds: New Geographic Patterns for an Information Economy
Sean Gorman | Rajendra Kulkarni
2004
Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design
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49. Epidemic Spreading in Scale-Free Networks
Romualdo Pastor-Satorras | Alessandro Vespignani
2001
Physical Review Letters
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50. On the Design of Resilient Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Small World Concepts
Daniel Guidoni | Raquel Mini | Antonio Loureiro
2010
Computer Networks
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51. Hyperlink Analyses of the World Wide Web: A Review
Han Park | Mike Thelwall
2003
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
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e) Information Sciences
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52. Strong Correlations between Text Quality and Complex Networks Features
L. Antiqueira | M. Nunes | O. Oliveira | L. Costa
2007
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
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53. Coauthorship Networks and Patterns of Scientific Collaboration
M. Newman
2004
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
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54. Social Network Analysis: A Powerful Strategy, also for the Information Sciences
Evelien Otte | Ronald Rousseau
2002
Journal of Information Science
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55. Global and Local Features of Semantic Networks: Evidence from the Hebrew Mental Lexicon
Yoed Kenett | Dror Kenett | Eshel Ben-Jacob | Miriam Faust
2011
PLoS ONE
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f) Science and Engineering
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56. Empirical Analysis of a Scale-Free Railway Network in China
W. Li | X. Cai
2007
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
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57. Simulating Wildfire Patterns Using a Small-World Network Model
J. Adou | Y. Billaud | D. Brou | J.-P. Clerc | J.-L. Consalvi | A. Fuentes | A. Kaiss | F. Nmira | B. Porterie | L. Zekri | N. Zekri
2010
Ecological Modelling
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58. Experiential Hierarchies of Streets
Martin Tomko | Stephan Winter | Christophe Claramunt
2008
Computers, Environment and Urban Systems
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59. The Network Analysis of Urban Streets: A Dual Approach
Sergio Porta | Paolo Crucitti | Vito Latora
2006
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
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Volume IV
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Multidisciplinary Applications
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g) Psychology and Cognitive Science
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60. Defeating Denial: Limited Nuclear War and the Small World Problem
Bem Allen
1990
The Journal of Social Psychology
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61. Modeling Belief Systems with Scale-Free Networks
Miklós Antal | László Balogh
2009
Neural Networks
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62. A “Small-World” Network Model of Cognitive Insight
Melissa Schilling
2005
Schilling Creativity Research Journal
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63. Scaling Laws in Cognitive Sciences
Christopher Kello | Gordon Brown | Ramon Ferrer-i-Cancho | John Holden | Klaus Linkenkaer-Hansen | Theo Rhodes | Guy Van Orden
2010
Orden Trends in Cognitive Sciences
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Kai Yuan | Wei Qin | Jixin Liu | Qian Guo | Minghao Dong | Jinbo Sun | Yi Zhang | Peng Liu | Wei Wang | Yarong Wang | Qiang Li | Weichuan Yang | Karen von Deneen | Mark Gold | Yijun Liu | Jie Tian
2010
Neuroscience Letters
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h) Business and Management Science
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65. Small-World Networks and Management Science Research: A Review
Brian Uzzi | Luis Amaral | Felix Reed-Tsochas
2007
European Management Review
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66. The Network Paradigm in Organizational Research: A Review and Typology
Stephen Borgatti | Pacey Foster
2003
Journal of Management
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67. Are Small World Networks Always Best for Innovation?
Tim Kastelle | John Steen
2010
Innovation: Management, Policy & Practice
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68. Knowledge Networks: Explaining Effective Knowledge Sharing in Multiunit Companies
Morten Hansen
2002
Organization Science
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William Stevenson | Mary Gilly
1991
Academy of Management Journal
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i) Economics, Politics, and Power
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70. Who Knows Whom? Acquaintanceship and Contacts in the Israeli National Elite
Michael Gurevitch | Alex Weingrod
1978
Human Relations
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Annette Freyberg-Inan
2006
Global Networks
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72. On the Topological Properties of the World Trade Web: A Weighted Network Analysis
Giorgio Fagiolo | Javier Reyes | Stefano Schiavo
2008
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
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73. The Social Structure of the World Polity1
Jason Beckfield
2010
American Journal of Sociology
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74. The Small World of the American Corporate Elite, 1982–2001
Gerald Davis | Mina Yoo | Wayne Baker
2003
Strategic Organization
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