Book contents
- Critical Review for the MRCPsych
- Reviews
- Critical Review for the MRCPsych
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Chapter 1Introduction to Epidemiology
- Chapter 2Cross-Sectional and Ecological Studies
- Chapter 3Case–Control Studies
- Chapter 4Diagnostic Studies
- Chapter 5Cohort Studies
- Chapter 6Self-Controlled Case Series Studies
- Chapter 7Causation in Epidemiological Studies
- Chapter 8Clinical Trials
- Chapter 9Systematic Review
- Chapter 10Network Analysis
- Chapter 11Descriptive Statistics
- Chapter 12Analytic or Inferential Statistics
- Chapter 13Economic Analysis
- Chapter 14Qualitative Studies
- Chapter 15Audit and Quality Improvement
- Chapter 16Research Ethics, Ethical Approval, and Reporting Standards in Research Studies
- Glossary
- Index
- References
Chapter 10 - Network Analysis
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2026
Book contents
- Critical Review for the MRCPsych
- Reviews
- Critical Review for the MRCPsych
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Chapter 1Introduction to Epidemiology
- Chapter 2Cross-Sectional and Ecological Studies
- Chapter 3Case–Control Studies
- Chapter 4Diagnostic Studies
- Chapter 5Cohort Studies
- Chapter 6Self-Controlled Case Series Studies
- Chapter 7Causation in Epidemiological Studies
- Chapter 8Clinical Trials
- Chapter 9Systematic Review
- Chapter 10Network Analysis
- Chapter 11Descriptive Statistics
- Chapter 12Analytic or Inferential Statistics
- Chapter 13Economic Analysis
- Chapter 14Qualitative Studies
- Chapter 15Audit and Quality Improvement
- Chapter 16Research Ethics, Ethical Approval, and Reporting Standards in Research Studies
- Glossary
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter introduces network analysis as an emerging approach in health research, providing tools to study the structure and dynamics of relationships between individuals, groups, or variables. It explains key concepts such as nodes, edges, centrality, and network density, and demonstrates how these measures capture the complexity of social, biological, or informational systems. Applications in epidemiology include modelling infectious disease transmission, understanding health behaviours, and identifying influential individuals or groups for interventions. Network analysis also supports systems-level understanding of comorbidities, genetic pathways, and healthcare delivery. Strengths of the method include its ability to visualise complex relationships, identify patterns not visible through traditional approaches, and generate novel insights into mechanisms of health and disease. Limitations include the need for high-quality relational data, complex analytical techniques, and challenges in interpretation. The chapter also highlights software tools and visualisation methods that make network analysis more accessible to researchers. Practical examples illustrate its use in mapping HIV transmission networks and analysing patterns of collaboration in healthcare teams. This chapter maps to syllabus section 3.2.13, which encourages knowledge of newer approaches including network and systems analysis.
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- Critical Review for the MRCPsych , pp. 147 - 157Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
References
Further Reading
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Epskamp, S, Cramer, AOJ, Waldorp, LJ, Schmittmann, VD, Borsboom, D. qgraph: network visualizations of relationships in psychometric data. J Stat Softw. 2012;48(4):1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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Newman, MEJ. Finding community structure in networks using the eigenvectors of matrices. Phys Rev E. 2006;74(3):036104. doi: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.74.036104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Newman, MEJ. Modularity and community structure in networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006;103(23):8577–82. doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0601602103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Newman, MEJ. Networks: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shannon, P, Markiel, A, Ozier, O, et al. Cytoscape: a software environment for integrated models of biomolecular interaction networks. Genome Res. 2003;13(11):2498–504.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watts, DJ, Strogatz, SH. Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks. Nature. 1998;393(6684):440–2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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