Article,
Characterization of complex networks: A survey of measurements
Advances in Physics, 56 (1): 167-242 (January 2005)
Abstract
Each complex network (or class of networks) presents specific topological
features which characterize its connectivity and highly influence
the dynamics of processes executed on the network. The analysis,
discrimination, and synthesis of complex networks therefore rely
on the use ofmeasurements capable of expressing the most relevant
topological features. This article presents a survey of such measurements.
It includes general considerations about complex network characterization,
a brief review of the principal models,and the presentation of the
main existing measurements. Important relatedissues covered in this
work comprise the representation of the evolution of complex networks
in terms of trajectories in several measurement spaces,the analysis
of the correlations between some of the most traditional measurements,
perturbation analysis, as well as the use of multivariate statistics
for feature selection and network classification. Depending on the
networkand the analysis task one has in mind, a specific set of features
may be chosen. It is hoped that the present survey will help the
proper application and interpretation of measurements.
