Machine learningNetwork science

Closeness Centrality

Closeness centrality measures how quickly a node can reach all others in a network by computing the inverse of its average shortest-path distance to every other node. First described by Bavelas (1950) and formally unified by Freeman (1979), it identifies nodes that can spread information or resources efficiently across the entire graph — not merely nodes with many direct contacts.

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Sources

  1. Freeman, L. C. (1979). Centrality in social networks: Conceptual clarification. Social Networks, 1(3), 215–239. DOI: 10.1016/0378-8733(78)90021-7
  2. Bavelas, A. (1950). Communication patterns in task-oriented groups. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 22(6), 725–730. DOI: 10.1121/1.1906679

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Referenced by

ScholarGateCloseness Centrality (Closeness Centrality (Bavelas-Freeman Shortest-Path Measure)). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/network-analysis/closeness-centrality