Sinatra et al. 2016 — three-page memo

reading notes
network analysis
methods
A short reading note on the Q-model, the random impact rule, and the co-authorship-asymmetry inference rule that powers the Coffee Shop visualization.
Published

May 12, 2026

A three-page memo on Sinatra, Wang, Deville, Song, and Barabási’s 2016 Science paper, Quantifying the evolution of individual scientific impact. Covers the Q-model, the random impact rule, and the supplementary-material co-authorship-asymmetry rule that the Coffee Shop project applies to infer mentor → mentee edges.

Open in a new tab, print as a PDF, or download for offline reading.

✦   Read the memo    or download HTML →

Why this paper is in the project file

The Coffee Shop visualization uses Sinatra et al.’s co-authorship-asymmetry rule to infer mentor → mentee edges from publication data. About 99% of the lines in the live viz trace back to that rule. The memo lays out what the paper actually argues (the Q-model and the random impact rule), where the asymmetry rule lives (the supplementary materials), and where it shows its seams in practice.

chirp