Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42312120›Full record

ArticleJournal of physics. Complexity2026

Inferring signed social networks from contact patterns.

Dávid Ferenczi, Jean-Gabriel Young, Leto Peel

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of physics. Complexity, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Dávid FerencziDepartment of Data Analytics and Digitalisation, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, 6211 LM Maastricht, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9507-5774
Jean-Gabriel YoungDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4464-2692
Leto PeelDepartment of Data Analytics and Digitalisation, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, 6211 LM Maastricht, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4740-7492

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Social networks are typically inferred from indirect observations, such as proximity data; yet, most methods cannot distinguish between absent relationships and actual negative ties, as both can result in few or no interactions. We address the challenge of inferring signed networks from contact patterns while accounting for whether a lack of interactions reflects a lack of opportunity as opposed to active avoidance. We develop a Bayesian framework with Markov Chain Monte Carlo inference that models interaction groups to separate chance from choice when no interactions are observed. Validation on synthetic data demonstrates superior performance compared to natural baselines, particularly in detecting negative edges. We apply our method to French high school contact data to reveal a structure consistent with friendship surveys and demonstrate the model's adequacy through posterior predictive checks.

Indexed as

Bayesian inferencenetwork reconstructionsigned networks

Identifiers

PMID42312120
PMCPMC13270159

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.