Measurement of social stratification. A contribution to the dispute on the ORTEGA hypothesis

An empirical study about the stratification in coauthorship networks is represented and it is tested whether the extent of stratification decreases with the increasing number of coauthors per paper.

Abstract

Some discussion papers about the ORTEGA hypothesis were published inScientometrics. One aspect of these discussions was the necessity for the future extension of empirical research to gain a better foundation for the acceptance or refutation of the Ortega hypothesis which states that the research done by average scientists substantially contributes to the advance of science. In this direction an empirical study about the stratification in coauthorship networks is represented in this paper. It was tested whether the extent of stratification decreases with the increasing number of coauthors per paper.