statnet

Visit the statnet Wiki for information on, background material for and access to the statnet suite of packages for network analysis. You can find installation instructions, tutorials, and developer resources at the wiki.

What is statnet?

statnet is a suite of software packages for network analysis that implement recent advances in the statistical modeling of networks. The analytic framework is based on Exponential family Random Graph Models (ergm). statnet provides a comprehensive framework for ergm-based network modeling, including tools for model estimation, model evaluation, model-based network simulation, and network visualization. This broad functionality is powered by a central Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm.

statnet has a different purpose than the excellent packages UCINET or Pajek; the focus is on statistical modeling of network data. The statistical modeling capabilities of statnet include ERGMs, latent space and latent cluster models.  The packages are written in a combination of (the open-source statistical language) R and (ANSI standard) C, and are called from the R command line. And because it runs in the R package (www.r-project.org), you also have access to the full functionality of R, including the packages "network" and "sna" written by Carter Butts.  statnet has a command line interface, not a GUI, with a syntax that resembles R.