Influence of measurement errors on networks: Estimating the robustness of centrality measures

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

Most network studies rely on a measured network that differs from the underlying network which is obfuscated by measurement errors. It is well known that such errors can have a severe impact on the reliability of network metrics, especially on centrality measures: a more central node in the observed network might be less central in the underlying network. Previous studies have dealt either with the general effects of measurement errors on centrality measures or with the treatment of erroneous network data. In this paper, we propose a method for estimating the impact of measurement errors on the reliability of a centrality measure, given the measured network and assumptions about the type and intensity of the measurement error. This method allows researchers to estimate the robustness of a centrality measure in a specific network and can, therefore, be used as a basis for decision-making. In our experiments, we apply this method to random graphs and real-world networks. We observe that our estimation is, in the vast majority of cases, a good approximation for the robustness of centrality measures. Beyond this, we propose a heuristic to decide whether the estimation procedure should be used. We analyze, for certain networks, why the eigenvector centrality is less robust than, among others, the pagerank. Finally, we give recommendations on how our findings can be applied to future network studies.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftNetwork Science
Jahrgang7
Ausgabenummer2
Seiten (von - bis)180-195
Anzahl der Seiten16
ISSN2050-1242
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.06.2019

Dokumente

DOI

Zuletzt angesehen

Forschende

  1. Karlheinz Wöhler

Aktivitäten

  1. Workshop on Gender Responsive Policy Making - 2015
  2. A mobile phone supported internet-based intervention for depressive symptoms in diabetes mellitus type 1 and type 2: design and preliminary results of a randomised controlled trial.
  3. Does Anthropomorphism in Chatbots Enhance Customers' Willingness to Pay?
  4. "Is your slam based on facts, or on gags and slapstick?”– How problems of contemporary science communication concepts become visible in new public genres like the science slam
  5. 29th International Workshop on Computational Mechanics of Materials - IWCMM29
  6. ISKO Lectures Summer Semester 2016
  7. Time as management interface in sustainability transformations
  8. Affective polarization and the support for different forms of governance. Evidence from Germany
  9. Soft Soil II/III – Beyond Emergency
  10. Symposium "The Aethetic Field"
  11. The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms and its Capability for Intercultural Thinking
  12. Opportunities to Learn, professional beliefs and the Ability to identify Academic Language Features in a Mathematical Explanation. A Study Among Pre-Service Teachers.
  13. How effective is participation in public environmental decision-making? Early findings from a meta analysis of 250 case studies
  14. Un/Stable Infrastructures
  15. Experiences of self-determination: The mediating role of tourist behaviour and travel experience
  16. Making Urban Spaces of Possibilities: Cultural Infrastructures and the Politics Of Cooperation In Real-Utopian Place-Making (Workshop)
  17. Dislimitation of Urban Tourism

Presse / Medien

  1. Knowledge of Sound