Research and knowledge networks in the European Network for Housing Research

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the broad lines of research which dominate in Europe with regard to housing. As information source was selected one of the main European research networks in the area of housing, the European Network for Housing Research. This research seeks to answer the following questions in the field of research on housing: Witch position has the different European countries in the system of international research? Witch European institutions are the central of research networks in the area of housing? The knowledge networks favor inter-institutional links? Witch subjects dominate in European and international research? Witch institutions and networks are emerging in the research on housing? To answer these questions we compiled in a database all communications of the 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012 ENHR Conferences, 1212 communications in total. The database contains all the communications, organized around the following attributes: year, title, subject, authors, author institution and country. In terms of relational attributes we choose the research production developed in an inter-institutional manner (authors belonging to different institutions) or involving inter-country networks (authors resident in different countries). On the other hand, the fact that each communication in each annual conference was classified in different topics, allows a study focused on thematic or affiliation, i.e. a classification of cognitive networks for research in housing. In this sense, in terms of knowledge research networks in the field of housing in the Conferences of the ENHR we analyze: the centers and nearby organization, through identification of core and peripheral institutions and inter-institutional clusters of ENHR; the centrality and geographic proximity, through the identification of the central and peripheral countries in the investigation and the main clusters of inter-country ENHR; the centrality and cognitive nearby, by identifying the authors integrated into sub-themes of the ENHR Conferences, evaluating the authors strongly specialized and authors that connect different thematic research. The network analysis was supported in the program NodeX, tool that serves to support the study of social networks.