network analysis

Network analysis is the study of patteerns in large networks. Ths can include network visualisaton as well as dedic ated algorithms and mathematical techniques. For example, simple metrics include the distrubution of the number of connections of nodes, and the diameter the network, that is maximum number of hops to get from anywhere to anywhere. Often the former follows a power-law distribution with a small number of nodes having a very large number of connections. The diameter is often suprisingly small , a phenomenon known as the small world effect.