Using patent data for collaboration network analysis

Full title: Using patent data for collaboration network analysis. An application with USTPO data in PatentsView

Presenters: Sergio Palomeque, Pablo Galaso

This workshop aims to provide practical training in the use of patent data for the study of collaborative networks. Participants will learn how to apply Back Bone Extraction (BBE) techniques that allows to identify significant links to approach the phenomenon of collaboration. Also some examples of research works that have used patent data will be presented and some of the general limitations of this type of data. Special emphasis will be placed on the technologies associated with patents and how to use them from a social network analysis perspective, allowing this methodology to be applied to units of analysis that are not people or organisations, but rather technological fields.

The specific objectives offered by the workshop to its participants are: (i) to become familiar with patent data and its usefulness for the study of network analysis, (ii) to become familiar with the main literature on the subject, (iii) to download USPTO data available through the PatentsView platform, (iv) to learn about and process the different tables included in the database, (v) to build (using R) different types of collaborative networks from this data, and (vi) to analyse these networks, emphasising some stylised facts common to this type of interactions.

It is recommended (although not exclusive) that attendees have a basic knowledge of R and RStudio, as well as a general knowledge of Social Network Analysis.

Detailed content: 1. Patent data and social network analysis (1 hour) 1.1. What is a patent? 1.2. Why is this type of data useful for social science research? 1.3. Advantages of using patent data from the USPTO 1.4. Basic elements of patent data and their potential for use in social network analysis 1.5. Literature on social networks and patents: 1.5.1. Main streams of literature analyzing patent networks (e.g. innovation studies, economic geography, scientometrics) 1.5.2. Types of networks and analytical perspectives (interpersonal networks, interorganizational networks, macro-level networks, sectoral networks) 2. The PatentsView project (1 hour) 2.1. Goals 2.2. Presentation and availability of data, main tables 2.3. Batch download of tables using R 2.4. Relational database construction 3. Data processing using R (3 hours) 3.1. Incidence and adjacency matrices 3.2. Node attributes 3.3. Link attributes 3.4. Calculation and interpretation of node-level metrics 3.5. Calculation of network topology metrics 3.6. Visualization of dense networks 3.7. BBE techniques 4. Studies with PatentsView data (1 hour) 4.1. Recent applied studies 4.2. Limitations of this type of data