An algorithm for detecting community structure of social networks based on prior knowledge and modularity

An algorithm is proposed to detect community structure in social network. The algorithm begins with a community division based on prior knowledge of the degrees of the nodes, and then combines the communities until a clear partition is obtained. In applications such as a computer-generated network, Ucinet networks, and Chinese rural-urban migrants' social networks, the algorithm can achieve higher modularity and greater speed than others in the recent literature. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.