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My research interests include the social dynamics of collaboration, open movements, virtual teams, and self-organizing systems. My research interests, projects, and papers demonstrate my approaches to this broad area of inquiry. I have an Erdös number of 6.*

My primary research interest currently lies in understanding the processes involved in open knowledge generation. Open knowledge refers to data, content, and information that is free for unrestricted use, reuse, and distribution. I am interested in developing a better understanding of the coordination mechanisms that enable open knowledge creation, and the characteristics of open knowledge environments that support participation.

In general, I enjoy applying computational and quantitative analysis methods to large data sets, such as archives of secondary data. To investigate larger trends in sociotechnical systems, I apply social network analysis and data visualization methods, using tools like Taverna Workbench to create self-documenting, replicable analysis workflows that I can share with other researchers.

My research projects include studies on free/libre open source software development and social networks.

Free/libre open source software development is the phenomenon studied by the FLOSS research group at the iSchool at Syracuse University. Among our many recent efforts, I am investigating the social dynamics of self-organizing FLOSS development teams. I'm also working on replicating some prior FLOSS studies using analysis workflows to demonstrate the value of eResearch approaches to social science research in this area.

Social networks are an increasingly popular topic of study. My interests in network science lie in dynamic network analysis and complex adaptive systems; I've been fascinated by graphing relationships ever since taking graph theory as a math undergrad.

• My thesis research is succinctly presented in my iConference 2008 paper, Community Identity: Peer Prestige and Academic Hiring in the iSchools [0.3 MB PDF].
• My 2007 Master's thesis, Exploring Peer Prestige in Academic Hiring Networks [1.2 MB .pdf] compares the hiring networks of iSchools and Computer Science departments to understand which network characteristics may predict US News & World Report graduate program rankings. Please contact me if you are interested in the data set.
• The ASNA 2006 conference paper is a precursor to my Master's thesis research; written with Lada Adamic and Mick McQuaid, The Small Worlds of Academic Hiring Networks [1.1 MB PDF] is about prestige and patterns of hiring in academia

The full i-School network comprises 152 nodes and 429 edges, summarizing the 674 PhD degrees held by full-time faculty members of the 19 members of the iSchool Caucus as of January 2007.

This network visualization is a comparison data set of the faculty of 29 top computer science departments in North America.  With 123 nodes, the set has 572 edges and summarizes 1121 PhDs in computer science.

• Information and communicable diseases both spread through social networks. Try out my multi-agent simulation for a model of HIV & AIDS transmission in Axtell & Epstein's SugarScape , implemented with Netlogo. Adjust the variables to see their effect on the disease transmission events.
• An adaptive systems approach to evolving algorithms for geographical search in networks would allow parallel testing of many diverse algorithms on graphs with many different characteristics.  My EECS 594 research proposal, Adaptive Geographical Search in Networks [0.2 MB PDF] is a short overview of this approach.

Papers and Presentations

• Wiggins, A. (2009). Interdisciplinary Diversity in the iSchool Community [ 0.1 MB PDF abstract and 1 MB PDF poster]. Poster presented in the Doctoral Colloquium at iConference 2009, iSociety: Research, Education and Engagement, February 9 - 11, 2008, Chapel Hill, NC.
• Li, Q., Heckman, R., Allen, E., Crowston, K., Eseryel, U., Howison, J., & Wiggins, A. (2008). Asynchronous Decision-Making in Distributed Teams. [0.1 MB PDF abstract] Poster presented at Computer Supported Cooperative Work 2008, November 8– 12 , 2008, San Diego, CA.
• Wiggins, A., Howison, J., & Crowston, K. (2008). Replication of FLOSS Research as eResearch [0.1 MB PDF abstract]. Paper presented at Oxford e-Research Conference 2008. Oxford, UK, 11-13 September, 2008.
• Wiggins, A., Howison, J. & Crowston, K. (2008). Social dynamics of FLOSS team communication across channels. In Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Open Source Software (IFIP 2.13). Milan, Italy, 7-10 September, 2008.
• Howison, J., Wiggins, A. & Crowston, K. (2008). eResearch workflows for studying free and open source software development. In Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Open Source Software (IFIP 2.13). Milan, Italy, 7-10 September, 2008.
• Crowston, K., Howison, J. & Wiggins, A. (2008). eSocial Science for Free/Libre Open Source Software Researchers [0.2 MB PDF]. Paper presented at 4th International Conference on eSocial Science. Manchester, UK, 18-20 June, 2008.
• Wiggins, A., McQuaid, M., & Adamic, L. (2008). Community Identity: Peer Prestige and Academic Hiring in the iSchools [0.3 MB PDF].  Paper presented at iConference 2008: iFutures: Systems, Selves, Society.  Los Angeles, California, 28 February - 1 March, 2008.*
• Wiggins, A. (2007). Data Driven Design: Using Web Analytics to Improve Information Architectures [0.3 MB PDF].  Paper presented in the research track at ASIST Information Architecture Summit 2007.  Las Vegas, Nevada, 22-26 March, 2007.
• Wiggins, A., Adamic, L., & McQuaid, M. (2006). The Small Worlds of Academic Hiring Networks [1.2 MB PDF].  Paper presented at Applications of Social Network Analysis 2006.  Zürich, Switzerland, 5-6 October, 2006.

*Paul Erdös -> Michael S. O. Molloy -> Cristopher Moore -> James P. Crutchfield -> Bernardo A. Huberman -> Lada A. Adamic -> me