The emergence of heterogeneous scaling in research institutions

Abstract

The scientific ecosystem is characterized by complex multifaceted relationships between institutions, researchers, and their collaborators. In this work, the authors find common patterns in these relationships expressed through superlinear scaling, Heaps’ law, and Zipf’s law within the global collaboration network, and propose a minimal network model to explain these patterns based on preferential hiring by larger institutions, the “adjacent possible” capturing the birth of new institutions, and triadic closure of collaborations.