A social network analysis of scientific collaborations at the University of Florida

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a methodology and a theoretical perspective that studies patterns of relations among actors. When applied to the network of scientific collaborations at a university, SNA can provide many insights on the structure and the evolution of its scientific community.

Part I: Defining And Constructing The Social Network Of Scientific Collaborations At University Of Florida

A social network is a set of actors and the relations among them. Defining actors as researchers at UF, and relations as professional collaborations between researchers, we can use publicly availble data on publications and grants to visualize the social network of scientific collaborations at UF over the years. This reveals the structure of UF scientific community, and its interaction with formal organizations and institutional boundaries like departments, institutes and academic units.


Part II: Visualizing Group And Actor Characteristics In Collaboration Networks

Once we have network data on the UF scientific community, we can use SNA to visualize and analyze specific kinds of collaboration (e.g. publications vs grants); the position and centrality of particular departments, centers or institutes within UF’s scientific network; individual characteristics of UF researchers, be they network properties (e.g. actor centrality) or non-network attributes (e.g. researcher’s number of publications); the evolution of the UF scientific network over the years. SNA methods also allow us to detect cohesive subgroups(“communities”) of researchers who tend to work together in the university. Furthermore, the UF network can be aggregated from the individual level of researchers to the collective level of UF organizations, so as to visualize networks of collaborations among UF departments, institutes or academic units.

Research Productivity of the University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Hector H. Sandoval, Emanuel Garcia-Munoz
July 2021

The University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), founded in 2008, is the
academic hub for clinical and translational science connecting resources, people and ideas throughout the University, the State of Florida, and the national Clinical and Translational Science Award consortium. CTSI’s mission is the improvement of human health by strengthening the University’s ability to conduct clinical and translational research. Currently, nearly nine thousand researchers have utilized the invaluable resources and services provided by the Institute. This project evaluates the impact of CTSI’s resources and services on research productivity.

Volusia County Public Investment Study

Hector H. Sandoval, Chase Benoist, Mark Girson
June 2021

Historically, state and local governments have offered financial investments to attract out-of-state businesses or to retain/expand existing businesses. Advocates for these financial incentives consider this necessary venture capital for overall economic development, while critics see these as a form of corporate welfare. The long-term consequences of these investments are still a mystery despite a long history within governmental policies. In stark contrast, state tax revenue is the primary source of governmental recovery of investments. Utilizing Volusia County’s fiscal records, researchers estimate the number of years to recover the investment as well as a return on investment (ROI).

Analytical Services Relating to Property Taxation – PART 2: Revenue Component

Analytical Services Relating to Property Taxation – PART 2: Revenue Component

Publication Type: Fiscal Impact, Regional Modeling, Housing, Property Taxes, Public Policy, Revenue Forecasting, Taxation
Pages: 264
Authors: Archer, Wayne R.; Denslow, David A.; Dewey, James F.; Gatzlaff, Dean H.; Johns, Tracy L.; Macpherson, David A.; Norrbin, Stefan C.; Schlagenhauf, Donald E.; Scicchitano, Michael J.; Sirmans, G. Stacy; Stroh, Robert C.; Williamson, Anne R.
Subject Index:
Property taxes, Public policy, Save Our Homes

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