Trends and perspectives on the use of social network analysis in behavioural ecology: a bibliometric approach

Abstract The increased popularity and improved accessibility of social network analysis has improved our ability to test hypotheses about the complexity of animal social structure. To gain a deeper understanding of the use and application of social network analysis, we systematically surveyed the literature and extracted information on publication trends from articles using social network analysis. We synthesize trends in social network research over time and highlight variation in the use of different aspects of social network analysis. Our primary finding highlights the increase in use of social network analysis over time and from this finding, we observed an increase in the number of review and methods of social network analysis. We also found that most studies included a relatively small number (median = 15, range = 4–1406) of individuals to generate social networks, while the number and type of social network metrics calculated in a given study varied zero to nine (median = 2, range 0–9). The type of data collection or the software programs used to analyze social network data have changed; SOCPROG and UCINET have been replaced by various R packages over time. Finally, we found strong taxonomic and conservation bias in the species studied using social network analysis. Most species studied using social networks are mammals (111/201, 55%) or birds (47/201, 23%) and the majority tend to be species of least concern (119/201, 59%). We highlight emerging trends in social network research that may be valuable for distinct groups of social network researchers: students new to social network analysis, experienced behavioural ecologists interested in using social network analysis, and advanced social network users interested in trends of social network research. In summary we address the temporal trends in social network publication practices, highlight potential bias in some of the ways we employ social network analysis, and provide recommendations for future research based on our findings.