Synthetic graphs for link prediction benchmarking

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vlaskin, Alexey, Altmann, Eduardo G.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866929712551428096
author Vlaskin, Alexey
Altmann, Eduardo G.
author_facet Vlaskin, Alexey
Altmann, Eduardo G.
contents Predicting missing links in complex networks requires algorithms that are able to explore statistical regularities in the existing data. Here we investigate the interplay between algorithm efficiency and network structures through the introduction of suitably-designed synthetic graphs. We propose a family of random graphs that incorporates both micro-scale motifs and meso-scale communities, two ubiquitous structures in complex networks. A key contribution is the derivation of theoretical upper bounds for link prediction performance in our synthetic graphs, allowing us to estimate the predictability of the task and obtain an improved assessment of the performance of any method. Our results on the performance of classical methods (e.g., Stochastic Block Models, Node2Vec,GraphSage) show that the performance of all methods correlate with the theoretical predictability, that no single method is universally superior, and that each of the methods exploit different characteristics known to exist in large classes of networks. Our findings underline the need for careful consideration of graph structure when selecting a link prediction method and emphasize the value of comparing performance against synthetic benchmarks. We provide open-source code for generating these synthetic graphs, enabling further research on link prediction methods.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_03757
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Synthetic graphs for link prediction benchmarking
Vlaskin, Alexey
Altmann, Eduardo G.
Social and Information Networks
Physics and Society
Predicting missing links in complex networks requires algorithms that are able to explore statistical regularities in the existing data. Here we investigate the interplay between algorithm efficiency and network structures through the introduction of suitably-designed synthetic graphs. We propose a family of random graphs that incorporates both micro-scale motifs and meso-scale communities, two ubiquitous structures in complex networks. A key contribution is the derivation of theoretical upper bounds for link prediction performance in our synthetic graphs, allowing us to estimate the predictability of the task and obtain an improved assessment of the performance of any method. Our results on the performance of classical methods (e.g., Stochastic Block Models, Node2Vec,GraphSage) show that the performance of all methods correlate with the theoretical predictability, that no single method is universally superior, and that each of the methods exploit different characteristics known to exist in large classes of networks. Our findings underline the need for careful consideration of graph structure when selecting a link prediction method and emphasize the value of comparing performance against synthetic benchmarks. We provide open-source code for generating these synthetic graphs, enabling further research on link prediction methods.
title Synthetic graphs for link prediction benchmarking
topic Social and Information Networks
Physics and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.03757