Shift in the paradigm towards next-generation microbiology.

In this work, the position of contemporary microbiology is considered from the perspective of scientific success, and a list of historical points and lessons learned from the fields of medical microbiology, microbial ecology and systems biology is presented. In addition, patterns in the development of top-down research topics that emerged over time as well as overlapping ideas and personnel, which are the first signs of trans-domain research activities in the fields of metagenomics, metaproteomics, metatranscriptomics and metabolomics, are explored through analysis of the publication networks of 28 654 papers using the computer programme Pajek. The current state of affairs is defined, and the need for meta-analyses to leverage publication biases in the field of microbiology is put forward as a very important emerging field of microbiology, especially since microbiology is progressively dealing with multi-scale systems.

With whom do researchers collaborate and why?

Although research collaboration has been studied extensively, we still lack understanding regarding the factors stimulating researchers to collaborate with different kinds of research partners including members of the same research center or group, researchers from the same organization, researchers from other academic and non-academic organizations as well as international partners. Here, we provide an explanation of the emergence of diverse collaborative ties. The theoretical framework used for understanding research collaboration couples embodied in the individual with the and of the research field.

The stability of co-authorship structures.

This article examines the structure of co-authorship networks' stability in time. The goal of the article is to analyse differences in the stability and size of groups of researchers that co-author with each other (core research groups) formed in disciplines from the natural and technical sciences on one hand and the social sciences and humanities on the other. The cores were obtained by a pre-specified blockmodeling procedure assuming a multi-core-semi-periphery-periphery structure.

The evolution of research collaboration within and across disciplines in Italian Academia.

In sociology of science much attention is dedicated to the study of scientific networks, especially to co-authorship and citations in publications. Other trends of research have investigated the advantages, limits, performances and difficulties of interdisciplinary research, which is increasingly advocated by the main lines of public research funding. This paper explores the dynamics of interdisciplinary research in Italy over 10 years of scientific collaboration on research projects.

Scientific collaboration dynamics in a national scientific system.

This paper examines the collaboration structures and dynamics of the co-authorship network of all Slovenian researchers. Its goal is to identify the key factors driving collaboration and the main differences in collaboration behavior across scientific fields and disciplines. Two approaches to modelling network dynamics are combined in this paper: the small-world model and the mechanism of preferential attachment, also known as the process of cumulative advantage.

Influence of the friends' network in drug use and violent behaviour among young people in the nightlife recreational context.

Party networks of young people are important for socialization, but can also influence their involvement in risk behaviours. We explored the individual-centred networks (7.360 friends) of 1.