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Complexity of Social Networks

A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Complexity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 178

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: complex networks; computational social science; social networks; recommender systems; complex systems

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Guest Editor
Paul and Marcia Wythes Center on Contemporary China, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
Interests: computational social science; social networks; AI; complex systems

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Guest Editor
Center for Computational Communication Research (Zhuhai), School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Interests: social robots; computational communication; complex networks; social network analysis; big data analysis

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Guest Editor
College of Computer Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: data science; network science; computational epidemiology; graph neural networks; natural language processing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Social networks are characterized by heterogeneous structures, nonlinear dynamics, and evolving interactions among individuals, groups, and communities. Studying these networks is essential for understanding information diffusion, opinion evolution, and collective behavior in digital societies. Recent advances in computational methods have leveraged complex network theory to uncover the underlying mechanisms, including influence propagation, misinformation diffusion, and network evolution.

Digital platforms, such as social media and recommender systems, play vital roles in shaping communication and interactions. Through algorithmic mediation, these platforms impact information flows, influence user behavior, and contribute to the emergence of echo chambers and polarization, significantly promoting the complexity of analyzing the data and undemanding the underlying mechanism. Despite progress, significant challenges persist, particularly in understanding the dynamic patterns of information diffusion, the long-term effects of algorithmic recommendations on network structure, and the role of AI agents in simulating user interactions within these systems.

Therefore, this Special Issue seeks state-of-the-art research on social network complexity, emphasizing theoretical, computational, and applied approaches. Topics include information spreading mechanisms, community structure change, algorithmic system dynamics, AI in social network models, and novel methodologies for complex network analysis. Contributions are encouraged to address emerging challenges in algorithm-driven social systems or propose innovative frameworks.

Prof. Dr. Zi-Ke Zhang
Dr. Junming Huang
Dr. Xiaoke Xu
Dr. Quanhui Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • social networks
  • social media
  • network structure dynamics
  • echo chambers
  • collective behavior
  • AI in social networks
  • information diffusion

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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