Garfield number: on some characteristics of Eugene Garfield’s first and second order co-authorship networks

Abstract

In this note we give an overview of the first- and second-order collaboration network reflected by Eugene Garfield’s publications in scientific journals. Although he had only a quite limited number of co-authors and co-publications, his co-authors’ own collaboration networks generate a large world-wide and multidisciplinary coverage. The classical model of co-authorship network is the Erdős network with the Erdős Number indicating the shortest co-authorship path through which an author is connected with Paul Erdős. The two networks, generated by Erdős and Garfield, respectively, show completely different patterns and characteristics but illustrate the ways how ideas of great scholars and pioneers disseminate and influence the respective scientific communities.