Preface and Workshop Rationale


On September 26 and 27, 2005, the Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics of
the National Research Council conducted a 2-day workshop that explored statistical inference on
network data so as to stimulate further progress in this field. To encourage cross-fertilization of
ideas, the workshop brought together a wide range of researchers who are dealing with network
data in different contexts. The presentations focused on five major areas of research: network
models, dynamic networks, data and measurement on networks, robustness and fragility of
networks, and visualization and scalability of networks.
Disciplines such as biology, social sciences, and telecommunications have created
different kinds of statistical theory for inference on network data. The workshop was organized to
draw together experts from the various domains and to facilitate the sharing of their statistical,
mathematical, and computational toolkits.The ubiquity of networks and network data created a
challenging environment for the discovery of common problems and techniques.
The overall goals of this report, which is produced only on a CD and not in printed form,
are to improve communication among various communities working on problems associated with
network data and to increase relevant activity within the statistical sciences community. Included
in this report are the full and unedited text of the 18 workshop presentations, the agenda of the
workshop and a list of attendees (Appendix A) and biographical sketches of the speakers
(Appendix B). The presentations represent independent research efforts on the part of academia,
the private sector, federally funded laboratories, and government agencies, and as such they
provide a sampling rather than a comprehensive examination of the range of research and
research challenges posed by massive data streams.
This proceedings represents the viewpoints of its authors only and should not be taken as
a consensus report of the Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications or the National
Research Council.