Working with Network Data

James Bagrow is Associate Professor in Mathematics & Statistics at the University of Vermont. He works at the intersection of data science, complex systems and applied mathematics, using cutting-edge methods, mathematical models and large-scale data to explore and understand complex networks and systems. Yong-Yeol Ahn is Professor at Indiana University and a former Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He specializes in network and data science and machine learning, and his research on complex social and biological systems has been recognized by many awards, including the Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship.

• Contents; Preface; Part I. Background: 1. A whirlwind tour of network science; 2. Network data across fields; 3. Data ethics; 4. Primer; Part II. Applications, Tools and Tasks: 5. The life-cycle of a network study; 6. Gathering data; 7. Extracting networks from data – the 'upstream task'; 8. Implementation: storing and manipulating network data; 9. Incorporating node and edge attributes; 10. Awful errors and how to amend them; 11. Explore and explain: statistics for network data; 12. Understanding network structure and organization; 13. Visualizing networks; 14. Summarizing and comparing networks; 15. Dynamics and dynamic networks; 16. Machine learning; Interlude – Good practices for scientific computing; 17. Research record-keeping; 18. Data provenance; 19. Reproducible and reliable code; 20. Helpful tools; Part III. Fundamentals: 21. Networks demand network thinking: the friendship paradox; 22. Network models; 23. Statistical models and inference; 24. Uncertainty quantification and error analysis; 25. Ghost in the matrix: spectral methods for networks; 26. Embedding and machine learning; 27. Big data and scalability; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

'An essential resource for newcomers to network science, this book expertly addresses the practical challenges of handling network data. Through a rich array of real-world examples and hands-on exercises, Bagrow and Ahn skillfully guide readers through the complexities of conceptualizing and analyzing networked data, making this text a fundamental tool for students and researchers eager to explore the power of connections across various disciplines.' Albert-László Barabási, Dodge Distinguished Professor of Network Science at Northeastern University