bitriad
=======

This repo constitutes an R package, and contains data and tools for the triadic analysis of affiliation networks.

## Description

The paper [*Triadic analysis of affiliation networks*](https://arxiv.org/abs/1502.07016) makes a case for adopting a batch of triad-based tools for the study of (bipartite) affiliation networks. Most of the tools used therein are included in this package, which is built mostly on the [**igraph** package](https://igraph.org/r/). No new classes have been defined yet, but several back-end functions are written in C++ without reference to the **igraph** library. Any suggestions would be welcome.

## Installation

The package is not yet on CRAN; it can be installed using the [devtools](https://github.com/r-lib/devtools) package:

```r
devtools::install_github("corybrunson/bitriad")
```

## Functionality

The package implements several tools from the paper, most importantly

* `triad_census()`, which surveys the *triads* of an affiliation network and returns the census in a specified *scheme*; and
* `triad_closure()`, which surveys the *wedges* of an affiliation network and returns either global or local proportions of wedges that are *closed*.

The parameters for these functions, in particular the census schemes and the definitions of wedge and closure, are thoroughly documented in `help(triad_census)` and `help(triad_closure)`. Both functions pass to their corresponding functions in **igraph** when the input graph is not an affiliation network.

## Datasets

Empirical affiliation networks from the following sources are included as datasets:
* Davis(, Davis), Gardner, Gardner(, and St Clair Drake)'s [*Deep South: A Social Anthropological Study of Caste and Class*](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo177425440.html), p. 148 (`women_group`) and p. 209 (`women_clique`);
* Scott and Hughes' [*The Anatomy of Scottish Capital*](http://books.google.com/books?id=59mvAwAAQBAJ), specifically Table 2, covering 1920-21 (`scotland1920s`);
* Galaskiewicz's [*Social Organization of an Urban Grants Economy*](http://books.google.com/books?id=Vd25AAAAIAAJ), specifically a subset reproduced in Faust's ["Centrality in affiliation networks"](https://sites.socsci.uci.edu/~kfaust/faust/research/articles/faust_centrality_sn_1997.pdf) (`minneapolis1970s`);
* Barnes and Burkett's ["Structural Redundancy and Multiplicity in Corporate Networks"](https://www.insna.org/connections-archives-2000-2015) (`chicago1960s`);
* [Noordin Top Terrorist Network Data](https://web.archive.org/web/20140625114607/http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Descriptions/TERRNET.asp), using meetings (`nmt_meetings`) and organizations (`nmt_organizations`) as events;
* Fischer's [*Paul Revere's Ride*](http://books.google.com/books/about/Paul_Revere_s_Ride.html?id=ZAvQfZFbLp4C), Appendix D, as used in Han's ["The Other Ride of Paul Revere"](http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/chwe/ps269/han.pdf) (`whigs`).

## Documentation

The vignette `southern_women` outlines an analysis of `women_clique` and `women_group` using the censuses, some clustering coefficients, and other tools.

The full documentation is built into [a **bitriad** website](http://corybrunson.github.io/bitriad/) using [pkgdown](https://github.com/r-lib/pkgdown).