# Link Analysis **Entity class:** Analytical method **Domain:** Intelligence / investigations / graph analysis **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **Link analysis** represents entities and their relationships so an analyst can inspect direct and indirect connections, clusters, brokers, gaps, and sequences. Nodes may be people, organizations, accounts, devices, locations, vehicles, transactions, documents, or events; edges record a typed relationship and ideally its date, direction, source, and confidence. In plain language, link analysis is the disciplined version of asking **who knows whom, what connects them, and how certain we are**. A shared identifier creates a lead, not automatic proof of association or wrongdoing. ## Relationships - **broader method:** [[wiki/Social Network Analysis|Social Network Analysis]]. - **identity prerequisite:** [[wiki/Entity Resolution|Entity Resolution]]. - **operational implementation:** [[wiki/Identity and Relationship Analysis|Identity and Relationship Analysis]] and [[wiki/ICEPIC|ICEPIC]]. - **tabular form:** [[wiki/Association Matrix|Association Matrix]]. - **computational extension:** [[wiki/Graph Analytics|Graph Analytics]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [Oxford Journal of Conflict and Security Law — social-network analysis in counterterrorism](https://academic.oup.com/jcsl/article/29/1/165/7603867) - [[research/Immigration and Customs Enforcement Pattern Analysis and Information Collection (ICEPIC)|ICEPIC research dossier]]