We study empirically the time evolution of scientific collaboration networks in physics and biology. In these networks, two scientists are considered connected if they have coauthored one or more papers together. We show that the probability of scientists collaborating increases with the number of other collaborators they have in common, and that the probability of a particular scientist acquiring new collaborators increases with the number of his or her past collaborators. These results provide experimental evidence in favor of previously conjectured mechanisms for clustering and power-law degree distributions in networks.
For example, Newman REF studied the growth dynamics, namely the clustering and preferential attachment, of scientific collaboration networks in physics and biology fields.
Clustering and preferential attachment in growing networks
Phys. Rev. E
Medicine Physics