Research On The Structural Characteristics,relationship Patterns,and Mechanism Formation Of Academic Cooperation Networks Among Chinese Sports Scholars

The ability of science to achieve significant accomplishments is not only due to the communication methods among scholars and the operating rules of the academic environment,but also because academic research is a collaborative and continuous effort.In the field of sports science,scholars collaborate through publishing papers,attending academic conferences,and other means to share their research results and experiences,forming a large academic cooperation network to promote the advancement of sports science.Understanding the characteristics of the academic cooperation network structure among sports science scholars and its formation mechanism is crucial.This study follows the logic of describing phenomena,analyzing factors that influence their formation,and exploring the formation mechanism.Firstly,the structural characteristics of the academic cooperation network among sports science scholars are described and analyzed.Fourteen academic journals in the field of sports science published over the past ten years(January 1st,2012 to October 1st,2022)were selected as samples.The social network analysis method was used to analyze the structural characteristics of the academic cooperation network among sports science scholars from four dimensions: network integrity,centrality,cohesive subgroups,and core-periphery.The data results show that the academic cooperation network among sports science scholars exhibits a scale-free property and complies with the measurement theory of small-world networks.However,the connections between nodes in the academic cooperation network among sports science scholars are loose,and there are fewer channels and contacts for collaboration among authors.The internal connections of the communities are close,while the connections between communities are weak,showing a large dispersion and small aggregation state.These structural characteristics provide a certain foundation for the academic cooperation among sports science scholars.Secondly,the factors that influence the formation of the academic cooperation network among sports science scholars are analyzed.Based on the social relationship structure theory,the influence of social relationships on the formation of the academic cooperation network among sports science scholars is analyzed from three aspects:academic-driven,profession-driven,and geography-driven.Academic relationships drive the formation of the same academic path within sports science cooperation,with emotional support making collaborative behavior stable and enduring.Profession relationships make academic cooperation among sports science scholars more professional and efficient,and also help scholars to better understand each other’s research areas and methods.Geography relationships diversify the academic backgrounds and cultural backgrounds of scholars in the academic cooperation network,enriching the perspectives and depth of academic research.Therefore,these factors have a significant impact on the formation of the academic cooperation network.Finally,starting from the theory of relational embedding,we construct a theoretical analytical framework for the formation of academic collaboration among sports scholars,namely the "academic rules-social relationship embedding-action trajectory" framework.Academic rules are the rules and norms that constrain and regulate academic behavior in the sports academic field.Social relationships refer to the relationships and interactions among scholars in the academic field,while action trajectory refers to the academic behavior and action route demonstrated by sports scholars in practice.These three elements constantly embed,interact,and influence each other,forming a complete academic collaboration network among sports scholars.