Network Centrality Metrics

Overview

Centrality measures quantify node importance in a network. Four classical metrics: degree (connections), betweenness (bridge role), closeness (proximity), eigenvector (connection quality). Each captures a different aspect of importance. Complexity ranges from O(V+E) for degree to O(V×E) for betweenness.

When to Use

Trigger conditions:

• Identifying key influencers or critical nodes in social/organizational networks
• Analyzing network vulnerabilities (which node failure causes most damage)
• Comparing node importance across different dimensions

When NOT to use:

• For group/community detection (use community detection algorithms)
• For information spread modeling (use epidemic models)

Algorithm