A network scientific approach to the quantitative analysis of epic texts
[Thesis]
Yose, Joseph
Platini, Thierry; Mac Carron, P´adraig
Coventry University
2017
Thesis (Ph.D.)
2017
Network science has evolved out of various well-established disciplines including mathematics, statistics, physics, computer science and sociology. It enables the statistical treatment of certain types of systems comprising large numbers of interconnected elements. The collective behaviour that can be exhibited by such a system can manifest emergent features; i.e properties of the whole can be greater than the sum of those of its individual parts. Network science has been applied to a wide range of areas that include, biology, epidemiology, transportation, telecommunication, finance, scientometrics and more. Its application to different fields is still developing and it is still finding new applications in areas where it amalgamates more than one branch of knowledge, bringing together diverse traditional academic disciplines. Besides delivering new quantitative insights when applied to old problems, network science approaches inspire new questions and opens new avenues of research.