A primer on graphs

According to Innar Liiv, “Network science, sometimes considered a subfield of data science and sometimes an independent academic field, is a set of techniques, methods, and tools to study patterns in networked structures.” An example of a network is the image of the London underground map:

Figure 12.1 – An overview of Beck’s design for the London underground map (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beck_Map_1933.jpg found under fair use)

In our exploration of networks and graphs, we will use these terms interchangeably.

The study of networks has gained significant interest in recent years due to their ability to explain relationships between entities simply. As explained by Professor Matías Avila, “A network, also called a graph in the mathematical literature, is a collection of nodes where some pairs are connected by edges.”

In this primer, we will explore fundamental concepts...