Production in Social Network Analysis: bibliometric study at BRAPCI

Introduction: The objective of this article is to elaborate and analyze bibliometric indicators on the scientific production on Social Network Analysis. Method: The methodology of the work is of a descriptive-exploratory nature, with a bibliometric approach. The sample analyzed consists of articles from journals indexed in the Referential Database of Journal Articles in Information Science (BRAPCI), whose search covered all indexed records in the period 1972 to 2020. The metadata of the 88 articles were analyzed in Excel spreadsheets. Results: The year with the highest productivity related to the theme was 2015. Of the total of 157 authorships, the collaboration between 2 authors prevails, with a prevalence of articles written by male authors, highlighting Dalton Lopes Martins as the author with the largest number of publications on the subject. The journal Perspectivas em Ciencia da Informacao stands out with the largest number of articles. The theoretical reference used by the most cited papers is effectively marked by international works. The key words with the highest occurrence among the articles were: Social Network Analysis, Social Networks, Information Science, Scientific Collaboration, Coauthorship, Scientific Communication and Bibliometrics. Conclusions: The indicators indicate that the scientific production in Social Network Analysis in the field of Information Science has gained space among researchers, with various applications, being used as a methodological approach in applied studies or focused mainly on studies about collaborative relationships.