Social Network Dynamics: A Statistical Model Based on Continuous-time Markov Chains

A statistical model based on continuous-time Markov Chains is built to depict and analyze social network dynamics in this article. This model comprises two functions: one is the rate function, which indicates the rate at which one actor is allowed to change his social relationships in a specific time period. The other is the objective functions, which indicates the target social relationships of one actor when he departures from a specific status. We can use this model to get statistical rules of social network dynamics based on longitudinal social network data.