Abstract
The paper describes how some key network analysis methods and concepts—degree, strength, clustering coefficient, connected components and the rich club—might be used to understand the shape and structure of archives at an aggregate level. It will show how connected and disconnected components, for example, can highlight caches of confiscated family papers and bundles of correspondence seized from captured ships. It will describe how some basic network metrics—degree and weighted degree— when considered on a global scale, can serve as a useful comparative measure to understand the ‘type’ of archive in question, particularly when the direction of the links are considered.
Yann Ryan
Research Fellow, Networking Archives Project
I’ve been at Queen Mary, University of London since 2014 and recently completed a PhD in the history of early modern news.