The most commonly used R packages available for network analysis,
such as {igraph} or {sna}, are mainly oriented
around directed or undirected one-mode networks. But researchers are
increasingly interested in analysing multimodal (one-, two-, or
three-mode), multilevel (connected multimodal networks), or multilayer
(multiplex or signed) networks. Existing procedures typically involve
‘projecting’ them into one-mode networks so that they can be used with
those tools, but thereby potentially losing important structural
information, or require one or more other specific packages. Translating
between packages various syntaxes and expectations can introduce
significant transaction costs though, driving confusion, inefficiencies,
and errors.
{migraph} builds upon {manynet} to offer
smart solutions to these problems. It includes functions for marking and
measuring networks and their nodes and ties, identifying motifs and
memberships in them, and modelling these networks or simulating
processes such as diffusion upon them. Based on {manynet},
every function works for any compatible network format - from base R
matrices or edgelists as data frames, {igraph}, {network}, or {tidygraph}
objects. This means it is compatible with your existing workflow, is
extensible by other packages, and uses the most efficient algorithm
available for each task.
The package is intended as a software companion to the book:
David Knoke, Mario Diani, James Hollway, and Dimitris Christopoulos (2021) Multimodal Political Networks. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
Most datasets used in the book are included in this package, and the package implements most methods discussed in the book. Since many of theses datasets and routines are discussed and analysed more there, if you like the package please check out the book, and vice versa.
{migraph} includes five special groups of functions,
each with their own pretty print() and plot()
methods: marks, measures, memberships, motifs, and models.
{migraph} uses a common syntax to help new and
experienced network analysts find the right function and use it
correctly. All network_*() functions return a value for the
network/graph or for each mode in the network. All node_*()
functions return values for each node or vertex in the network. And all
tie_*() functions return values for each tie or edge in the
network. Functions are given intuitive and succinct names that avoid
conflicts with existing function names wherever possible. All results
are normalised by default, facilitating comparison.
{migraph}’s *is_*() functions offer fast
logical tests of various properties. Whereas is_*() returns
a single logical value for the network, node_is_*() returns
a logical vector the length of the number of nodes in the network, and
tie_is_*() returns a logical vector the length of the
number of ties in the network.
is_acyclic(), is_aperiodic(),
is_bipartite(), is_connected(),
is_eulerian(), is_perfect_matching()node_is_core(), node_is_cutpoint(),
node_is_isolate(), node_is_max(),
node_is_min(), node_is_random()tie_is_bridge(), tie_is_loop(),
tie_is_max(), tie_is_min(),
tie_is_multiple(), tie_is_reciprocated()The *is_max() and *is_min() functions are
used to identify the maximum or minimum, respectively, node or tie
according to some measure (see below).
{migraph} also offers a large and growing smorgasbord of
measures that can be used at the node, tie, and network level. Each
recognises whether the network is directed or undirected, weighted or
unweighted, one-mode or two-mode. All return normalized values wherever
possible, though this can be overrided. Here are some examples:
node_degree(),
node_closeness(), node_betweenness(), and
node_eigenvector()network_degree(),
network_closeness(), network_betweenness(),
and network_eigenvector()network_density(),
network_reciprocity(), network_transitivity(),
network_equivalency(), and
network_congruency()network_components(),
network_cohesion(), network_adhesion(),
network_diameter(), network_length()network_diversity(),
network_homophily(), network_assortativity(),
node_diversity(), node_homophily(),
node_assortativity(), node_richness()node_redundancy(),
node_effsize(), node_efficiency(),
node_constraint(), node_hierarchy()network_core(),
network_factions(), network_modularity(),
network_smallworld(), network_balance()Please explore the list of functions to find out more.
The package also include functions for returning various censuses at the network or node level, e.g.:
network_brokerage_census(),
network_dyad_census(), network_mixed_census(),
network_triad_census()node_brokerage_census(),
node_path_census(), node_quad_census(),
node_tie_census(), node_triad_census()These can be analysed alone, or used as a profile for establishing
equivalence. {migraph} offers both HCA and CONCOR
algorithms, as well as elbow, silhouette, and strict methods for
k-cluster selection.
node_automorphic_equivalence(),
node_equivalence(),
node_regular_equivalence(),
node_structural_equivalence(){migraph} also includes functions for establishing
membership on other bases, such as typical community detection
algorithms, as well as component and core-periphery partitioning
algorithms.
All measures can be tested against conditional uniform graph (CUG) or quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) distributions using:
test_permutation(), test_random()Hypotheses can also be tested within multivariate models via multiple (linear or logistic) regression QAP:
network_reg(){migraph} is the only package that offers these testing
frameworks for two-mode networks as well as one-mode networks.
Lastly, {migraph} also includes functions for simulating
diffusion or learning processes over a given network:
play_diffusion(), play_diffusions(),
play_learning(), play_segregation()The diffusion models include not only SI and threshold models, but also SIS, SIR, SIRS, SIER, and SIERS.
The easiest way to install the latest stable version of
{migraph} is via CRAN. Simply open the R console and
enter:1
install.packages('migraph')
You can then begin to use {migraph} by loading the
package:
library(migraph)
This will load any required packages and make the data contained within the package available.
For the latest development version, for slightly earlier access to new features or for testing, you may wish to download and install the binaries from Github or install from source locally.
The latest binary releases for all major OSes – Windows, Mac, and Linux – can be found here. Download the appropriate binary for your operating system, and install using an adapted version of the following commands:
install.packages("~/Downloads/migraph_winOS.zip", repos = NULL)install.packages("~/Downloads/migraph_macOS.tgz", repos = NULL)install.packages("~/Downloads/migraph_linuxOS.tar.gz", repos = NULL)To install from source the latest main version of
{migraph} from Github, please install the
{remotes} or {devtools} package from CRAN and
then:
remotes::install_github("snlab-ch/migraph")remotes::install_github("snlab-ch/migraph@develop")This package has recently moved away from the use of vignettes, in
favour of smaller and more interactive {learnr} tutorials.
Since version 0.12.3, many of the previous vignettes are instead
available as tutorials, more will be converted soon, and those that have
been converted will continue to be updated and enriched.
To access the tutorials, you will need to have the additional package
{learnr} installed:
install.packages("learnr"). Then we would first suggest
that you check to see which vignettes are currently available:
learnr::available_tutorials("migraph")
#> Available tutorials:
#> * migraph
#> - tutorial3 : "Centrality"
#> - tutorial4 : "Community"
#> - tutorial5 : "Equivalence"
#> - tutorial6 : "Topology"
#> - tutorial7 : "Diffusion"
#> - tutorial8 : "Regression"You can then choose to begin a tutorial using the following command:
e.g. learnr::run_tutorial("tutorial3", "migraph"). For more
details on the {learnr} package, see here.
It draws together, updates, and builds upon many functions currently
available in other excellent R packages such as {bipartite},
{multinet},
{tnet}, and {xUCINET}.
Most work on this package has been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Grant Number 188976: “Power and Networks and the Rate of Change in Institutional Complexes” (PANARCHIC).
Macs with Macports installed may also install from the command line using Macports.↩︎