Exposing multi-relational networks to single-relational network analysis algorithms

Many, if not most network analysis algorithms have been designed specifically for single-relational networks; that is, networks in which all edges are of the same type. For example, edges may either represent “friendship,” “kinship,” or “collaboration,” but not all of them together. In contrast, a m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of informetrics 2010, Vol.4 (1), p.29-41
Main Authors: Rodriguez, Marko A., Shinavier, Joshua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Multi-relational networks
Network analysis
Path algebra
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Summary:Many, if not most network analysis algorithms have been designed specifically for single-relational networks; that is, networks in which all edges are of the same type. For example, edges may either represent “friendship,” “kinship,” or “collaboration,” but not all of them together. In contrast, a multi-relational network is a network with a heterogeneous set of edge labels which can represent relationships of various types in a single data structure. While multi-relational networks are more expressive in terms of the variety of relationships they can capture, there is a need for a general framework for transferring the many single-relational network analysis algorithms to the multi-relational domain. It is not sufficient to execute a single-relational network analysis algorithm on a multi-relational network by simply ignoring edge labels. This article presents an algebra for mapping multi-relational networks to single-relational networks, thereby exposing them to single-relational network analysis algorithms.
ISSN:1751-1577
1875-5879
DOI:10.1016/j.joi.2009.06.004