= Network science
Network science studies systems represented by <graphs>, combining structural measurements, data analysis and models of network formation or dynamics. Vertices represent entities and edges represent a specified relation; <directed graphs>, <weighted graphs> and temporal data encode different kinds of interaction.
A transportation network might assign stations to vertices and direct services to edges. <Vertex degree> counts immediate connections, while shortest-path <graph distances> measure routes through several stations. These answer different questions: a high-degree station need not minimize all journey times, especially when edge weights represent duration.
Useful models must connect the graph definition to the measured system. A <biological network> built from physical binding experiments differs from one built from statistical correlation. Comparing an observed statistic with a suitable <random graph> model helps distinguish a structural pattern from what the vertex and edge counts already imply.
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