Network analysis and computational social science: theory, methods, applications, future perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

As witnessed by a growing multidisciplinary literature, network science is today a flourishing area whose heuristics are pervading extremely different fields. The computational investigation of networks’ features has seeped into the study of complex and interdependent phenomena, widening the methodological apparatus in disciplines spanning from physics to biochemistry, and from genetics to neuroscience.

Over the last ten years, complex network analysis (CNA) has played a crucial role in understanding network processes and human behaviors at a local and global scale. Today there is a growing understanding that CNA’s computational models and algorithms would be able to shed light on complex and dynamic behaviors previously inaccessible in the most diverse areas of social science from sociology to law, anthropology or political science.

This call for paper aims to explore the theoretical, methodological, and applicative level aspects of the interplay between social science and CNA to pursue a deeper understanding of social science research issues via network-based inferences. The ultimate goal is to promote an interdisciplinary debate and opportunity for cross-fertilization among research areas about current and future use of CNA in computational social science. In line with the Future Internet scope, special attention will be placed on research connected to web technologies (web applications, social media analysis). Contributions, either theoretical or applied, are welcome. Below is a (non-exhaustive) list of potential topics:

• Innovative applications of CNA in social science (law, economics, criminology, political science etc.)
• Algorithms for CNA
• CNA and Social Media
• CNA and visual analytics
• Bio-inspired approaches to CNA in computational social science
• Integration of CNA with other computational heuristics (machine learning, agent-based modeling, data mining, genetic algorithms, natural language processing)
• Multi-level CNA
• Interplay between structural features and opinion dynamics
• Trends on algorithmic personalization and individual versus collective behaviors
• Misinformation diffusion and impact on society
• Language and networks: debates, echo-chambers, and segregated communities
• Innovation diffusion and prediction
• Science of Science
• Tools and technologies for CNA

Dr. Nicola Lettieri
Prof. Delfina Malandrino
Prof. Giancarlo Ruffo
Dr. Rocco Zaccagnino
Dr. Alessandra Sala
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Future Internet is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.