Vincent Traag, PhD

Vincent Traag is a senior researcher at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of Leiden University in the Netherlands. His main interests are mathematical models in the social sciences with a focus on (social) networks. Traag is a core member of the Engagement & Inclusion focal area, where he studies the role of science in societal debates. In addition to his scientific research, Traag also acts as a bibliometric consultant at CWTS.

Traag obtained his Master in sociology (cum laude) from the University of Amsterdam (2008). Coming from a computer science background, and taking up mathematics during his studies in sociology, he went on to obtain a PhD in applied mathematics in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium (2013). He joined CWTS in 2015.

More information can be found on his personal website.

Publications

Journal publications (27)

• Boekhout, H.D., Traag, V.A., & Takes, F.W. (2021). Investigating scientific mobility in co-authorship networks using multilayer temporal motifs. Network Science, 9(3), 354-386. (paper)
• Colavizza, G., Costas, R., Traag, V.A., Van Eck, N.J., Van Leeuwen, T.N., & Waltman, L. (2021). A scientometric overview of CORD-19. PLoS ONE, 16(1), e0244839. (paper)
• Traag, V.A. (2021). Inferring the causal effect of journals on citations. Quantitative Science Studies, 2(2), 496-504. (paper)
• Akbaritabar, A., Traag, V.A., Caimo, A., & Squazzoni, F. (2020). Italian sociologists: a community of disconnected groups. Scientometrics, 124(3), 2361-2382. doi:10.1007/s11192-020-03555-w (paper)
• Berbers, A., Uitermark, J., Traag, V.A., & d'Haenens, L. (2020). From the margin to the centre? A relational analysis of discursive contention in the minority integration debate in the Low Countries. International Communication Gazette, 82(8), 705-725. doi:10.1177/1748048519842476 (paper)
• Subelj, L., Waltman, L., Traag, V.A., & Van Eck, N.J. (2020). Intermediacy of publications. Royal Society Open Science, 7(1), 190207. (paper)
• Waltman, L., & Traag, V.A. (2020). Use of the journal impact factor for assessing individual articles need not be statistically wrong, 9. F1000 Research, 366. doi:10.12688/f1000research.23418.1 (paper)
• Traag, V.A., & Waltman, L. (2019). Systematic analysis of agreement between metrics and peer review in the UK REF, e29. Palgrave Communications, 5. (paper)
• Traag, V.A., Waltman, L., & Van Eck, N.J. (2019). From Louvain to Leiden: guaranteeing well-connected communities, e5233. Scientific Reports, 9. (paper)
• Traag, V.A., Quax, R., & Sloot, P.M.A. (2017). Modelling the distance impedance of protest attendance. Physica A, 468, 171-182. (paper)
• Waltman, L., & Traag, V.A. (2017). Impact factors: Is the Nature Index at odds with DORA? (Correspondence). Nature, 545(7655), 412-412. (paper)
• Traag, V.A. (2016). Complex Contagion of Campaign Donations. PLoS ONE, 11(4), e0153539. (paper)
• Uitermark, J., Traag, V.A., & Bruggeman, J. (2016). Dissecting discursive contention: A relational analysis of the Dutch debate on minority integration, 1990-2006. Social Networks, 47, 107-115. (paper)
• Hicks, J., Traag, V.A., & Reinanda, R. (2015). Old questions, new techniques: a research note on the computational identification of political elites. Comparative Sociology, 14(3), 386-401. (paper)
• Hicks, J., Traag, V.A., & Reinanda, R. (2015). Turning Digitised Newspapers into Networks of Political Elites. Asian Journal of Social Science, 43(5), 567-587. doi:10.1163/15685314-04305004 (paper)
• Traag, V.A. (2015). Faster unfolding of communities: Speeding up the Louvain algorithm. Physical Review E, 92(3), 032801. (paper)
• Traag, V.A., Aldecoa, R., & Delvenne, J.C. (2015). Detecting communities using asymptotical surprise. Physical Review E, 92(2), e022816. (paper)
• Traag, V.A., Reinanda, R., & Van Klinken, G. (2015). Elite Co-Occurrence in the Media. Asian Journal of Social Science, 43(5), 588-612. (paper)
• Thomas, C.J., Lambrechts, J., Wolanski, E., Traag, V.A., Blondel, V.D., Deleersnijder, E., & Hanert, E. (2014). Numerical modelling and graph theory tools to study ecological connectivity in the Great Barrier Reef. Ecological Modelling, 272, 160-174. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2013.10.002 (paper)
• Csaji, B.C., Browet, A., Traag, V.A., Delvenne, J.C., Huens, E., Van Dooren, P., Smoreda, Z., & Blondel, V.D. (2013). Exploring the mobility of mobile phone users. Physica A, 392(6), 1459-1473. doi:10.1016/j.physa.2012.11.040 (paper)
• Lupu, Y., & Traag, V.A. (2013). Trading Communities, the Networked Structure of International Relations, and the Kantian Peace. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 57(6), 1011-1042. (paper)
• Traag, V.A., Kriegsman, L., & Van Dooren, P. (2013). Significant Scales in Community Structure, 3. Scientific Reports, 2930. doi:10.1038/srep02930 (paper)
• Traag, V.A., Van Dooren, P., & De Leenheer, P. (2013). Dynamical models explaining social balance and evolution of cooperation. PLoS ONE, 8(4), e60063. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060063 (paper)
• Bruggeman, J., Traag, V.A., & Uitermark, J. (2012). Detecting Communities through Network Data. American Sociological Review, 77(6), 1050-1063. doi:10.1177/0003122412463574 (paper)
• Uitermark, J., Traag, V.A., & Bruggeman, J. (2012). De strijd om discursieve macht. Sociologie, 8(2), 219-247. (paper)
• Traag, V.A., & Van Dooren, P. (2011). Narrow scope for resolution-limit-free community detection. Physical Review E, 84(1), 016114. doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.84.016114 (paper)
• Traag, V.A., & Bruggeman, J. (2009). Community detection in networks with positive and negative links. Physical Review E, 80(3), 036115. doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.80.036115 (paper)

Conference publications (4)

• Subelj, L., Waltman, L., Traag, V.A., & Van Eck, N.J. (2019). Intermediacy of publications. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (pp. 1288-1300).
• Traag, V.A., Browet, A., Calabrese, F., & Morlot, F. (2011). Social event detection in massive mobile phone data using probabilistic location inference. In (pp. 625-628). (paper)
• Traag, V.A., Van Dooren, P., & Nesterov, Y.E. (2011). Indirect reciprocity through gossiping can lead to cooperative clusters. In Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE Symposium on Artificial Life (pp. 154-161). doi:10.1109/ALIFE.2011.5954642 (paper)
• Traag, V.A., Nesterov, Y.E., & Van Dooren, P. (2010). Exponential ranking: taking into account negative links. In Social Informatics (pp. 192-202). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16567-2_14 (paper)

Book chapters (1)

• Traag, V.A., Reinanda, R., & Van Klinken, G. (2016). Structure of a Media Co-occurrence Network. Springer Proceedings in Complexity. In S. Battiston, F. De Pellegrini, G. Caldarelli, & E. Merelli (Eds.), Proceedings of 2014 European Conference on Complex Systems (pp. 81-91). doi:10.1007/978-3-319-29228-1_8 (paper)