How Structure Shapes Dynamics: Knowledge Development in Wikipedia - A Network Multilevel Modeling Approach

Using a longitudinal network analysis approach, we investigate the structural development of the knowledge base of Wikipedia in order to explain the appearance of new knowledge. The data consists of the articles in two adjacent knowledge domains: psychology and education. We analyze the development of networks of knowledge consisting of interlinked articles at seven snapshots from 2006 to 2012 with an interval of one year between them. Longitudinal data on the topological position of each article in the networks is used to model the appearance of new knowledge over time. Thus, the structural dimension of knowledge is related to its dynamics. Using multilevel modeling as well as eigenvector and betweenness measures, we explain the significance of pivotal articles that are either central within one of the knowledge domains or boundary-crossing between the two domains at a given point in time for the future development of new knowledge in the knowledge base.