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The accuracy of small world chains in social networks

The accuracy of small world chains in social networks
The accuracy of small world chains in social networks
We analyse 10,920 shortest path connections between 105 members of an interviewing bureau, together with the equivalent conceptual, or ‘small world’ routes, which use individuals’ selections of intermediaries. This permits the first study of the impact of accuracy within small world chains. The mean small world path length (3.23) is 40% longer than the mean of the actual shortest paths (2.30), showing that mistakes are prevalent. A Markov model with a probability of simply guessing an intermediary of 0.52 gives an excellent fit to the observations, suggesting that people make the wrong small world choice more than half the time.
Small world chains, Social networks, Markov model
0378-8733
85-96
Killworth, Peter D.
cdb4e8d3-c5eb-48b8-860a-0b16473b5d44
McCarty, Christopher
0c3e32ea-59b0-437a-aa28-3cec09260655
Bernard, H. Russell
ed4dc9b7-7ca7-46d8-85c7-1c82ea9e49ce
House, Mark
cabc0925-cf1b-46e0-bc13-9ade048a468e
Killworth, Peter D.
cdb4e8d3-c5eb-48b8-860a-0b16473b5d44
McCarty, Christopher
0c3e32ea-59b0-437a-aa28-3cec09260655
Bernard, H. Russell
ed4dc9b7-7ca7-46d8-85c7-1c82ea9e49ce
House, Mark
cabc0925-cf1b-46e0-bc13-9ade048a468e

Killworth, Peter D., McCarty, Christopher, Bernard, H. Russell and House, Mark (2006) The accuracy of small world chains in social networks. Social Networks, 28 (1), 85-96. (doi:10.1016/j.socnet.2005.06.001).

Record type: Article

Abstract

We analyse 10,920 shortest path connections between 105 members of an interviewing bureau, together with the equivalent conceptual, or ‘small world’ routes, which use individuals’ selections of intermediaries. This permits the first study of the impact of accuracy within small world chains. The mean small world path length (3.23) is 40% longer than the mean of the actual shortest paths (2.30), showing that mistakes are prevalent. A Markov model with a probability of simply guessing an intermediary of 0.52 gives an excellent fit to the observations, suggesting that people make the wrong small world choice more than half the time.

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More information

Published date: 2006
Keywords: Small world chains, Social networks, Markov model
Organisations: National Oceanography Centre

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 345883
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/345883
ISSN: 0378-8733
PURE UUID: 71620851-70c8-47fb-9a28-438d4e841f2a

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Date deposited: 04 Dec 2012 14:49
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 12:30

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Contributors

Author: Peter D. Killworth
Author: Christopher McCarty
Author: H. Russell Bernard
Author: Mark House

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