Network two-sample test for block models

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Nguen, Chung Kyong, Padilla, Oscar Hernan Madrid, Amini, Arash A.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866911911724974080
author Nguen, Chung Kyong
Padilla, Oscar Hernan Madrid
Amini, Arash A.
author_facet Nguen, Chung Kyong
Padilla, Oscar Hernan Madrid
Amini, Arash A.
contents We consider the two-sample testing problem for networks, where the goal is to determine whether two sets of networks originated from the same stochastic model. Assuming no vertex correspondence and allowing for different numbers of nodes, we address a fundamental network testing problem that goes beyond simple adjacency matrix comparisons. We adopt the stochastic block model (SBM) for network distributions, due to their interpretability and the potential to approximate more general models. The lack of meaningful node labels and vertex correspondence translate to a graph matching challenge when developing a test for SBMs. We introduce an efficient algorithm to match estimated network parameters, allowing us to properly combine and contrast information within and across samples, leading to a powerful test. We show that the matching algorithm, and the overall test are consistent, under mild conditions on the sparsity of the networks and the sample sizes, and derive a chi-squared asymptotic null distribution for the test. Through a mixture of theoretical insights and empirical validations, including experiments with both synthetic and real-world data, this study advances robust statistical inference for complex network data.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_06014
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Network two-sample test for block models
Nguen, Chung Kyong
Padilla, Oscar Hernan Madrid
Amini, Arash A.
Statistics Theory
Social and Information Networks
Methodology
Machine Learning
We consider the two-sample testing problem for networks, where the goal is to determine whether two sets of networks originated from the same stochastic model. Assuming no vertex correspondence and allowing for different numbers of nodes, we address a fundamental network testing problem that goes beyond simple adjacency matrix comparisons. We adopt the stochastic block model (SBM) for network distributions, due to their interpretability and the potential to approximate more general models. The lack of meaningful node labels and vertex correspondence translate to a graph matching challenge when developing a test for SBMs. We introduce an efficient algorithm to match estimated network parameters, allowing us to properly combine and contrast information within and across samples, leading to a powerful test. We show that the matching algorithm, and the overall test are consistent, under mild conditions on the sparsity of the networks and the sample sizes, and derive a chi-squared asymptotic null distribution for the test. Through a mixture of theoretical insights and empirical validations, including experiments with both synthetic and real-world data, this study advances robust statistical inference for complex network data.
title Network two-sample test for block models
topic Statistics Theory
Social and Information Networks
Methodology
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.06014