A statistician’s view of network modeling

Abstract

This introduction to statistical modeling of networks is aimed at an audience that possesses mathematical background at about the level of pre-calculus but that may not be familiar with what statisticians do. After illustrating the concept of statistical inference, the chapter discusses this concept in two main contexts where network data are analyzed: First, when a network is observed, and the aim is to learn about the process that may have formed it; and second, when the network itself is the object of scientific inquiry because it is unobserved.