Definition: Betweenness centrality measures the number of times a node lies on the shortest path between other nodes. What it tells us: This measure shows which nodes are 'bridges' between nodes in a network. It does this by identifying all the shortest paths and then counting how many times each node falls on one.

How is betweenness centrality calculated?

To calculate betweenness centrality, you take every pair of the network and count how many times a node can interrupt the shortest paths (geodesic distance) between the two nodes of the pair. For standardization, I note that the denominator is (n-1)(n-2)/2. For this network, (7-1)(7-2)/2 = 15.

What is the difference between betweenness centrality and closeness centrality?

Betweenness centrality is generally regarded as a measure of others' dependence on a given node, and therefore as a measure of potential control. Closeness centrality is usually interpreted either as a measure of access efficiency or of independence from potential control by intermediaries.