  This study introduces a method based on link analysis to investigate the
structure of the R&D support infrastructure associated with science parks in
order to determine whether this webometric approach gives plausible results.
Three science parks from Yorkshire and the Humber in the UK were analysed with
webometric and social network analysis techniques. Interlinking networks were
generated through the combination of two different data sets extracted from
three sources (Yahoo!, Bing, SocSciBot). These networks suggest that
institutional sectors, representing business, universities and public bodies,
are primarily tied together by a core formed by research institutions, support
structure organisations and business developers. The comparison of the findings
with traditional indicators suggests that the web-based networks reflect the
offline conditions and policy measures adopted in the region, giving some
evidence that the webometric approach is plausible to investigating science
park networks. This is the first study that applies a web-based approach to
investigate to what extent the science parks facilitate a closer interaction
between the heterogeneous organisations that converge in R&D networks. This
indicates that link analysis may help to get a first insight into the
organisation of the R&D support infrastructure provided by science parks.
