Pretty much any network analysis will include a visualization. Sometimes, they're even helpful. Visualizing networks is hard. They often contain more information than can fit on a page, and highly connected networks result in many edges crossing over each other. Too often, the result is a hairball, the affectionate name given to a network visualization that has too many densely packed connections to communicate anything meaningful. Creating a clear and meaningful network visualization requires understanding the available techniques and knowing when to apply them.
Different network layouts emphasize different properties. The force-directed layouts that have been used extensively in this book are good for visually identifying community structure, but can obscure individual relationships. Other methods, such as circular and shell layouts, are better for conveying...
