Statistical Analysis of Network Data with R

Abstract

Statistical Analysis of Network Data with R is a recent addition to the growing UseR! series of computational statistics monographs using the R programming language (R Core Team 2015). It gives a practical introduction to the visualization, modeling and analysis of network data, a topic which has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity. The book brings together a partnership of two established researchers in the field: Eric Kolaczyk, author of a number of papers and a recent texts on statistical network analysis, and Gabor Csardi, researcher of network data arising in biological applications and lead developer of a popular network analysis software suite. I was thus curious to see what this book has to offer, especially since such data is becoming more available and of interest in a wide range of scientific fields. In the preface, the authors state the aims of the book as “to provide an easily accessible introduction to the statistical analysis of network data”, but flag to the reader that the book is “not a detailed manual for using the various R packages encountered [...] nor [...] provide exhaustive coverage of the conceptual and technical foundations of the topic area”, but instead aims to “strike a balance between the two”. I will discuss both the theoretical and computing aspects of the book below.