The stability of centrality measures when networks are sampled

The ability to measure centrality in social networks has been a particularly useful development in social network analysis. For researchers trying to decide which centrality measure is most meaningful and valid for their research purposes, various papers have explored the conceptual foundations of centrality measures. Less well documented is the empirical performance of centrality measures under different research scenarios or constraints. This study uses bootstrap sampling procedures to determine how sampling affects the stability of 11 different network centrality measures. Results indicate that some measures are more stable than others, and that stability is also a function of network and study properties. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.