SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

Btech CSE 4th Year

Tathagata sir

Social Web:
The Social Web, also known as the Social Media Web or Web 2.0, refers to the portion of the internet that is
focused on social interaction, user-generated content, and collaboration among users. It encompasses various
online platforms and websites that facilitate social networking, content sharing, and communication. Social
media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are prime examples of the Social Web. These
platforms enable users to create profiles, connect with others, share content, and engage in online communities.

Nodes:
In the context of social networks and graph theory, nodes are individual entities or points within a network. In
the Social Web, nodes typically represent users, accounts, or profiles on social media platforms. Each node can
have attributes such as a username, location, interests, and connections to other nodes. Nodes are fundamental
building blocks of social networks and play a central role in understanding the structure and dynamics of these
networks.

Edges:
Edges represent the relationships or connections between nodes in a network. In the context of the Social Web,
edges can signify various types of connections, such as friendships, following relationships, mentions, likes, or
any interaction between users. For instance, on a social media platform like Twitter, a follow relationship
between two users is represented by an edge connecting their respective nodes. Edges provide valuable
information about the interactions and associations among users within a social network.

Network Measures:
Network measures, also known as network metrics or network analysis techniques, are quantitative methods
used to analyze and characterize the properties of social networks. These measures help researchers and analysts
gain insights into the structure and behavior of social networks. Some common network measures include:

1. Degree Centrality: This measure counts the number of edges (connections) that a node has. In the context of
social networks, nodes with high degree centrality may be considered influential or well-connected.

2. Betweenness Centrality: It measures the extent to which a node lies on the shortest paths between other nodes
in the network. Nodes with high betweenness centrality play a critical role in facilitating communication within
the network.

3. Clustering Coefficient: This measure quantifies the degree to which nodes in a network tend to cluster
together. A high clustering coefficient indicates that nodes' connections are tightly interconnected.

4. PageRank: Popularized by Google's search engine, PageRank measures the importance or influence of a node
based on the number and quality of its incoming edges.

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5. Community Detection: Network analysis techniques can identify groups or communities of nodes that are
densely connected within themselves but have fewer connections between groups. This helps in understanding
the structure of subgroups within a network.

6. Centrality Measures: Various centrality measures, such as closeness centrality and eigenvector centrality,
assess the importance of nodes based on different criteria.

Nodes and Edges:

- Nodes: Nodes are individual entities within a network. They can represent a wide range of entities, depending
on the context. In a social network, nodes can represent individual users or accounts. In a transportation
network, nodes can represent cities or intersections. Nodes often have attributes or properties associated with
them, such as names, IDs, or characteristics.

- Edges: Edges, also known as links or connections, represent relationships or interactions between nodes. They
define how nodes are connected to each other within a network. In a social network, edges can signify
friendships, following relationships, or interactions like messages or mentions. Edges can also have attributes,
such as weights to indicate the strength of a relationship.

Networks:
A network is a collection of nodes and edges that represent a system of connections or relationships. Networks
can be found in various domains, including social networks, transportation networks, communication networks,
and more. Networks can be directed (edges have a specific direction) or undirected (edges have no direction),
weighted (edges have weights or values) or unweighted, and they can have various topologies and structures.

Layouts:
Layouts in the context of network visualization refer to how nodes and edges are arranged visually in a
graphical representation of the network. There are several common layouts:

1. Force-Directed Layout: This layout uses physics-based algorithms to position nodes in a way that minimizes
edge crossing and ensures that nodes with strong connections are closer together.

2. Circular Layout: Nodes are arranged in a circular pattern, which is useful for visualizing small to medium-
sized networks where node order matters.

3. Grid Layout: Nodes are arranged in a grid-like structure, which is suitable for regular, grid-like networks.

4. Kamada-Kawai Layout: It is a more complex layout that considers the distances between nodes and tries to
position them optimally based on their connectivity.

5. Tree Layout: Nodes are arranged hierarchically in a tree-like structure, often used for visualizing hierarchical
or tree-structured data.

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Tathagata sir

Visualizing Network Features:

Visualizing network features allows you to gain insights into the structure and characteristics of a network. Here
are some common visualizations and what they can reveal:

1. Node-Link Diagrams: These diagrams display nodes as points and edges as lines connecting them. They help
visualize the overall structure of the network, including clusters, hubs, and isolated nodes.

2. Degree Distribution: A histogram showing the distribution of node degrees (number of connections) can
reveal whether the network follows a power-law distribution (scale-free network) or a more uniform
distribution.

3. Community Detection: Visualization techniques can highlight communities or groups of nodes that are
tightly interconnected, helping identify subgroups or clusters within a network.

4. Centrality Visualization: Visualizing centrality measures like betweenness or closeness centrality can
highlight the most influential nodes or those that bridge different parts of the network.

5. Heatmaps: Heatmaps can be used to display attributes or properties of nodes or edges, such as edge weights
or node attributes, helping to identify patterns or trends.

6. Geospatial Visualization: In networks with geographical information, geospatial visualization can display
nodes on a map, providing insights into the network's geographic distribution.

Visualizing network features is essential for understanding network topology, identifying key nodes or
communities, and detecting anomalies or patterns within the network, making it a crucial tool for network
analysis and exploration.

Tie Strength:
Tie strength, in the context of social networks and network theory, refers to the intensity or closeness of a
relationship between two nodes (individuals, entities, or any network components). Understanding tie strength
is essential for analyzing social networks, as it helps determine the influence, communication patterns, and trust
within a network. Here's the role of tie strength in network analysis:

1. Influence and Trust: Tie strength indicates the level of influence or trust between individuals. Strong ties
typically represent close relationships, such as family members or close friends, while weak ties may indicate
more distant relationships, like acquaintances. Understanding tie strength helps identify key influencers within a
network.

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Tathagata sir

2. Information Flow: Tie strength also affects the flow of information within a network. Strong ties facilitate
rapid and reliable information exchange, while weak ties can connect different clusters of nodes, potentially
bridging information gaps between different parts of a network.

3. Community Detection: Tie strength contributes to the identification of communities or clusters within a
network. Strong ties tend to create cohesive clusters, while weak ties can act as bridges between different
clusters, aiding in community detection.

Measuring Tie Strength:

Measuring tie strength is challenging because it is subjective and context-dependent. However, several methods
and indicators can help approximate tie strength:

1. Interaction Frequency: The more frequently two nodes interact (e.g., communication, collaboration, or
transactions), the stronger their tie is likely to be.

2. Duration of Relationship: The longer a relationship has existed, the stronger the tie tends to be. Long-term
friendships or professional partnerships often signify strong ties.

3. Emotional Bond: Qualitative assessments of emotional closeness, trust, and reciprocity in a relationship can
provide insights into tie strength.

4. Shared Resources: If two nodes share resources, responsibilities, or dependencies, their tie may be stronger.
For example, sharing a household or workspace can indicate a strong tie.

5. Social Network Analysis Metrics: Network analysis metrics like edge weight (quantifying interactions) or
edge betweenness (quantifying a tie's role in connecting different parts of the network) can provide quantitative
measures of tie strength.

Network Structures and Tie Strength:

Different network structures can influence tie strength:

1. Cliques: In a network with tightly knit cliques (groups of nodes with strong ties among them), tie strength
tends to be high within cliques.

2. Bridges: Weak ties often act as bridges connecting different parts of a network, enhancing overall network
cohesion.

3. Hierarchy: Hierarchical networks may have strong ties between individuals at the same hierarchical level,
reflecting professional or organizational relationships.

Network Propagation:

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Network propagation refers to the spread of information, influence, or behaviors through a network. Tie
strength plays a crucial role in network propagation:

1. Strong Tie Propagation: Information or influence is likely to spread quickly and effectively through strong
ties due to trust and frequent interactions.

2. Weak Tie Propagation: Weak ties can be instrumental in propagating information to distant parts of the
network. They facilitate the reach of information beyond immediate social circles.

3. Threshold Models: Network propagation models often consider tie strength when determining the activation
threshold for nodes. Strong ties may require lower thresholds for activation compared to weak ties.

Understanding tie strength, measuring it, and considering it within network structures are essential for gaining
insights into social networks, predicting information spread, and identifying influential nodes within a network.
It contributes significantly to the field of network science and social network analysis.

Link Prediction:
Link prediction is a fundamental concept in network analysis, particularly in social networks and
recommendation systems. It involves predicting the likelihood of a future connection (edge) between two nodes
in a network based on their existing connections and network structure. Link prediction is valuable for various
applications, including friend recommendation on social media platforms, collaboration prediction in academic
networks, and more. Common methods for link prediction include common neighbors, Jaccard coefficient, and
machine learning algorithms.

Entity Resolution:
Entity resolution, also known as record linkage or deduplication, is the process of identifying and merging
records in a dataset that refer to the same real-world entity or entity instance. This is crucial in data integration
and cleaning tasks, such as merging customer records from different sources or identifying duplicate entries in a
database. Entity resolution methods typically involve comparing attributes (e.g., names, addresses) and
similarity measures to determine if two records represent the same entity.

Case Study:
A case study is an in-depth analysis of a particular real-world scenario or problem. In data science and network
analysis, case studies involve applying analytical techniques to address specific challenges or questions. For
example, a case study might involve analyzing a social network to understand the spread of information during
a pandemic, identifying key influencers, and assessing the impact of interventions.

Introduction to Community Discovery:

Community discovery, also known as community detection or clustering, is the process of identifying groups or
communities of nodes in a network that are more densely connected to each other than to nodes outside the

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Tathagata sir

group. Communities can represent meaningful substructures within a network, such as social cliques, functional
groups in an organization, or thematic groups in a content-sharing platform.

Communities in Context:
Communities in context refers to the idea that the definition and interpretation of communities within a network
depend on the specific context or domain of study. What constitutes a community in a social network may differ
from what defines a community in a biological network or an online forum. Contextual understanding is crucial
for accurately identifying and interpreting communities within a given network.

Quality Functions:
Quality functions, also known as community evaluation metrics, are measures used to assess the quality or
effectiveness of community detection algorithms. These metrics help quantify how well a set of nodes forms a
meaningful community. Common quality functions include modularity, conductance, and normalized mutual
information. Choosing the right quality function depends on the goals and characteristics of the network being
analyzed.

The Kernighan-Lin algorithm, Agglomerative algorithms, and Spectral algorithms are techniques used in graph
theory and network analysis for various purposes, including graph partitioning, clustering, and community
detection. Here's an overview of each:

1. Kernighan-Lin Algorithm:
- Purpose: The Kernighan-Lin algorithm is primarily used for graph partitioning and is known for its
application in bipartitioning or dividing a graph into two equal-sized partitions while minimizing the edge-cut,
which is the number of edges connecting the two partitions.
- How It Works: The algorithm starts with an initial partition and iteratively swaps nodes between the two
partitions to improve the edge-cut. It employs a "gain" metric that measures the benefit of swapping a node
between partitions. The Kernighan-Lin algorithm uses a heuristic approach to find near-optimal solutions in a
reasonable amount of time.
- Applications: This algorithm has applications in VLSI circuit design, network partitioning, and other
situations where dividing a network into two balanced parts with minimal connections is essential.

2. Agglomerative Algorithms:
- Purpose: Agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithms are used for data clustering and community
detection. These algorithms build a hierarchy of clusters by iteratively merging smaller clusters into larger ones
until a termination condition is met.
- How They Work: Agglomerative algorithms begin with each data point as its own cluster and repeatedly
merge the two closest clusters until a stopping criterion is reached (e.g., a specified number of clusters or a
certain distance threshold). The linkage criteria (e.g., single linkage, complete linkage, average linkage) define
how the distance between clusters is computed.
- Applications: Agglomerative clustering is widely used in biology, social network analysis, and image
segmentation, among other fields, to discover hierarchical structures in data.

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 SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS
Btech CSE 4th Year
Tathagata sir

3. Spectral Algorithms:
- Purpose: Spectral clustering algorithms are used for data clustering and community detection based on the
eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a similarity or affinity matrix derived from the data.
- How They Work: Spectral algorithms transform the data or network into a matrix, often using techniques
like the Laplacian matrix. By computing the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of this matrix, they project the data
into a lower-dimensional space where clusters can be more easily separated. The final clusters are obtained
through standard clustering methods like k-means applied in this lower-dimensional space.
- Applications: Spectral clustering is effective in various domains, including image segmentation, document
clustering, and community detection in social networks, especially when data exhibits complex or non-linear
structures.

In summary, these algorithms are valuable tools in network analysis and data clustering tasks. The Kernighan-
Lin algorithm focuses on graph bipartitioning, agglomerative algorithms create hierarchical cluster structures,
and spectral algorithms leverage linear algebra techniques to identify clusters in data or networks. The choice of
algorithm depends on the specific problem and the characteristics of the data or network being analyzed.

1. Multi-Level Graph Partitioning:

- Purpose: Multi-level graph partitioning algorithms aim to find a good partitioning of a graph into multiple
clusters or communities while considering different levels of granularity in the partition.
- How It Works: These algorithms start with a coarse-grained representation of the graph, which may involve
aggregating nodes into super-nodes. Then, they refine the partitioning at a finer level of detail. This process
iterates, moving between coarser and finer levels, until a satisfactory partitioning is achieved.
- Applications: Multi-level graph partitioning is used in various fields, including circuit design, image
segmentation, and community detection in social networks. It can help identify communities at different scales
within a network.

2. Markov Clustering (MCL):

- Purpose: Markov clustering is an unsupervised clustering algorithm used for identifying clusters or
communities in graphs.
- How It Works: MCL simulates a random walk on the graph, iteratively inflating and normalizing transition
probabilities to uncover densely connected regions. The algorithm is based on the idea of repeatedly squaring a
stochastic matrix, causing nodes that can be reached in multiple steps to have higher probabilities.
- Applications: Markov clustering has applications in protein interaction networks, citation networks, and
other graph-based data analysis tasks where identifying functional or thematic clusters is important.

3. Other Approaches in Network Analysis:

- Label Propagation: Label propagation algorithms assign labels to nodes in a network based on the labels of
their neighbors. This can be used for tasks like community detection.
- Louvain Modularity: The Louvain method optimizes network modularity, a measure of community
structure, by iteratively moving nodes between communities to maximize modularity.

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- Network Embeddings: Network embedding techniques, like node2vec and GraphSAGE, map nodes in a
network to low-dimensional vector spaces, enabling various downstream tasks such as link prediction, node
classification, and recommendation.

4. Introduction to Social Influence:

- Purpose: Social influence refers to the ability of one individual or group to affect the thoughts, behaviors, or
actions of others within a social network. It plays a crucial role in understanding how ideas, trends, and
information spread through society.
- How It Works: Social influence can manifest in various ways, including through direct interactions, word-
of-mouth, social media, or cultural diffusion. Models like the diffusion of innovations theory and epidemic
spreading models help explain and predict the spread of influence and behaviors within networks.
- Applications: Understanding social influence is valuable for marketing, public health campaigns, opinion
dynamics, and social network analysis. It can inform strategies for product adoption, disease prevention, and
social change.

Certainly, let's explore influence-related statistics, social similarity, influence, homophily, and the Existential
Test for social influence:

1. Influence-Related Statistics:
- Degree Centrality: Degree centrality measures the number of connections (edges) that a node has in a social
network. Nodes with higher degree centrality are often considered more influential or have greater potential to
spread information.
- Betweenness Centrality: Betweenness centrality quantifies the extent to which a node lies on the shortest
paths between other nodes in a network. Nodes with high betweenness centrality can act as bridges, facilitating
the spread of influence.
- Eigenvector Centrality: Eigenvector centrality takes into account a node's connections to other influential
nodes. A node is considered influential if it is connected to other influential nodes.
- PageRank: PageRank, made famous by Google, measures a node's importance based on the number and
quality of its incoming links. In a social network context, it can identify influential individuals.

2. Social Similarity and Influence:

- Social similarity refers to the degree of similarity or commonality between individuals in a social network.
Influence often arises from social similarity because people are more likely to be influenced by those they
perceive as similar to themselves.
- For example, in marketing, individuals may be more influenced by product recommendations from others
with similar demographics or interests.
- Social similarity can lead to the formation of echo chambers or filter bubbles, where individuals are exposed
to information and opinions similar to their own.

3. Homophily:

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- Homophily is a sociological concept that refers to the tendency of individuals to associate with others who
are similar to them in characteristics such as age, gender, race, interests, or beliefs.
- Homophily plays a significant role in social influence because it leads to the formation of social ties and
networks based on shared characteristics.
- Social networks often exhibit homophily, with individuals more likely to be connected to others who are
similar to them in some way.

4. Existential Test for Social Influence:

- The Existential Test for Social Influence is a method for evaluating the influence of one person on another in
a social context.
- It involves assessing whether an individual's behavior or decision would have been different if they had not
been exposed to the influencer's actions, opinions, or recommendations.
- The test considers whether the influence was significant enough to change the influenced person's behavior
or decision in a way that can be attributed to the influencer's actions.
- This test helps distinguish between genuine influence and mere correlation, as it requires demonstrating a
causal link between the influencer's actions and the influenced person's behavior.

Influence and Actions:

Influence in a social context refers to the ability of one individual or entity to affect the thoughts, behaviors, or
actions of others. Here's how influence relates to actions:

- Behavioral Influence: Influence often manifests as a change in behavior or action. For example, a person may
be influenced by a peer's recommendation to purchase a product, resulting in the action of making a purchase.

- Direct vs. Indirect Influence: Influence can be direct, where one person directly persuades another to take a
specific action, or indirect, where an individual's actions or behaviors serve as a model or example that others
emulate.

- Actions as a Measure of Influence: Measuring influence often involves tracking the actions or behaviors that
occur as a result of influence. In marketing, this could be the number of product purchases, clicks on an
advertisement, or shares of a social media post.

Influence and Interactions:

Influence is closely tied to interactions within a social network. Here's how influence and interactions are
connected:

- Interpersonal Interactions: Influence frequently occurs through interpersonal interactions. It can involve
conversations, recommendations, endorsements, or any form of communication between individuals.

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- Network Structure: The structure of a social network, including who interacts with whom, plays a critical role
in determining how influence spreads. Nodes (individuals or entities) in the network can influence their
immediate neighbors, who, in turn, influence their neighbors, creating a cascading effect.

- Online Social Interactions: In the digital age, online interactions on social media platforms, forums, and blogs
are a prominent channel for influence. Likes, shares, comments, and retweets can all signify influence in the
virtual realm.

Influence Maximization in Viral Marketing:

Influence maximization is a key concept in viral marketing, which aims to identify a subset of individuals (seed
nodes) within a social network whose actions or behaviors, when influenced, can lead to the maximum spread
of a message, product, or idea. Here's how influence maximization works:

- Identifying Key Influencers: Influence maximization algorithms help identify the most influential individuals
in a network. These are often individuals who have a large number of connections, high engagement levels, or a
history of successfully promoting products or ideas.

- Seed Selection: Once key influencers are identified, the goal is to select a small number of seed nodes from
this group. These seeds will be targeted with a marketing message or campaign.

- Cascading Effect: The hope is that by influencing these initial seed nodes, a cascading effect will occur, with
their connections being influenced in turn. This process continues, potentially leading to widespread adoption or
dissemination of the promoted content.

- Optimizing Influence: Influence maximization algorithms aim to optimize the selection of seed nodes to
maximize the reach or impact of a viral marketing campaign. They consider factors like network structure,
influence probabilities, and campaign budget.

- Applications: Influence maximization is widely used in online advertising, social media marketing, and
product promotion. It helps businesses identify the most effective strategies for reaching a large audience
through the influence of a select few.

In summary, influence in a social context often leads to actions or behaviors, and it is closely tied to interactions
within social networks. Influence maximization in viral marketing is the process of strategically selecting
individuals to maximize the spread of a message or campaign, leveraging the power of influence within a
network.

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