9,783 research outputs found
Hierarchical Stochastic Block Model for Community Detection in Multiplex Networks
Multiplex networks have become increasingly more prevalent in many fields,
and have emerged as a powerful tool for modeling the complexity of real
networks. There is a critical need for developing inference models for
multiplex networks that can take into account potential dependencies across
different layers, particularly when the aim is community detection. We add to a
limited literature by proposing a novel and efficient Bayesian model for
community detection in multiplex networks. A key feature of our approach is the
ability to model varying communities at different network layers. In contrast,
many existing models assume the same communities for all layers. Moreover, our
model automatically picks up the necessary number of communities at each layer
(as validated by real data examples). This is appealing, since deciding the
number of communities is a challenging aspect of community detection, and
especially so in the multiplex setting, if one allows the communities to change
across layers. Borrowing ideas from hierarchical Bayesian modeling, we use a
hierarchical Dirichlet prior to model community labels across layers, allowing
dependency in their structure. Given the community labels, a stochastic block
model (SBM) is assumed for each layer. We develop an efficient slice sampler
for sampling the posterior distribution of the community labels as well as the
link probabilities between communities. In doing so, we address some unique
challenges posed by coupling the complex likelihood of SBM with the
hierarchical nature of the prior on the labels. An extensive empirical
validation is performed on simulated and real data, demonstrating the superior
performance of the model over single-layer alternatives, as well as the ability
to uncover interesting structures in real networks
Model-based clustering for populations of networks
Until recently obtaining data on populations of networks was typically rare.
However, with the advancement of automatic monitoring devices and the growing
social and scientific interest in networks, such data has become more widely
available. From sociological experiments involving cognitive social structures
to fMRI scans revealing large-scale brain networks of groups of patients, there
is a growing awareness that we urgently need tools to analyse populations of
networks and particularly to model the variation between networks due to
covariates. We propose a model-based clustering method based on mixtures of
generalized linear (mixed) models that can be employed to describe the joint
distribution of a populations of networks in a parsimonious manner and to
identify subpopulations of networks that share certain topological properties
of interest (degree distribution, community structure, effect of covariates on
the presence of an edge, etc.). Maximum likelihood estimation for the proposed
model can be efficiently carried out with an implementation of the EM
algorithm. We assess the performance of this method on simulated data and
conclude with an example application on advice networks in a small business.Comment: The final (published) version of the article can be downloaded for
free (Open Access) from the editor's website (click on the DOI link below
Multilayer Networks
In most natural and engineered systems, a set of entities interact with each
other in complicated patterns that can encompass multiple types of
relationships, change in time, and include other types of complications. Such
systems include multiple subsystems and layers of connectivity, and it is
important to take such "multilayer" features into account to try to improve our
understanding of complex systems. Consequently, it is necessary to generalize
"traditional" network theory by developing (and validating) a framework and
associated tools to study multilayer systems in a comprehensive fashion. The
origins of such efforts date back several decades and arose in multiple
disciplines, and now the study of multilayer networks has become one of the
most important directions in network science. In this paper, we discuss the
history of multilayer networks (and related concepts) and review the exploding
body of work on such networks. To unify the disparate terminology in the large
body of recent work, we discuss a general framework for multilayer networks,
construct a dictionary of terminology to relate the numerous existing concepts
to each other, and provide a thorough discussion that compares, contrasts, and
translates between related notions such as multilayer networks, multiplex
networks, interdependent networks, networks of networks, and many others. We
also survey and discuss existing data sets that can be represented as
multilayer networks. We review attempts to generalize single-layer-network
diagnostics to multilayer networks. We also discuss the rapidly expanding
research on multilayer-network models and notions like community structure,
connected components, tensor decompositions, and various types of dynamical
processes on multilayer networks. We conclude with a summary and an outlook.Comment: Working paper; 59 pages, 8 figure
Nine Quick Tips for Analyzing Network Data
These tips provide a quick and concentrated guide for beginners in the
analysis of network data
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