Social networks as normal science

Social network analysis has emerged as an integrated scientific specialty concerned with the structural analysis of social interaction. Historical evidence suggests that members of this specialty are connected by an invisible college, a shared paradigm and a primary journal. The journal Social Networks is a primary outlet for researchers in this specialty, particularly those concerned with methodological issues. By examining the pattern of citations within this journal we are able to confirm this historical evidence and gain insight into how science is being conducted by members of this specialty. Using main path analysis, we examined the pattern in the citation network in the first 12 volumes of the journal. We found six main path structures of connected articles that define and describe core developments in the specialty. The most important of these structures focuses on role analysis, and spans all 12 volumes of Social Networks. We find a high density of multiple citations, both to articles within the journal and to key articles outside the journal, and many authors who have published more than a single article in the journal. In addition, the main path tree structures extend through much of the total network, have a single identifiable coherent substantive concern, and are incremental in nature. The pattern of these main paths, and the overall citation pattern, is consistent with a pattern of scientific development labeled by Kuhn as ‘normal science’.