ICDC: Ranking Influential Nodes in Complex Networks Based on Isolating and Clustering Coefficient Centrality Measures

Over the past decade, there has been extensive research conducted on complex networks, primarily driven by their crucial role in understanding the various real-world networks such as social networks, communication networks, transportation networks, and biological networks. Ranking influential nodes is one of the fundamental research problems in the areas of rumor spreading, disease research, viral marketing, and drug development. Influential nodes in any network are used to disseminate the information as fast as possible. Centrality measures are designed to quantify the node’s significance and rank the influential nodes in complex networks. However, these measures typically focus on either the local or global topological structure within and outside network communities. In particular, many measures limit their ability to capture the node’s overall impact on small-scale networks. To address these challenges, we develop a novel centrality measure called Isolating Clustering Distance Centrality (ICDC) by integrating the isolating and clustering coefficient centrality measures. The proposed metric gives a more thorough assessment of the node’s importance by integrating the local isolation and global topological influence in large-scale complex networks. We employ the SIR and ICM epidemic models to study the efficiency of ICDC against traditional centrality measures across real-world complex networks. Our experimental findings consistently highlight the superior efficacy of ICDC in terms of fast spreading and computational efficiency when compared to existing centrality measures.