Method and system for abstracting information for use in link analysis

Observable data points are collected and organized into a link-oriented data set comprising nodes and links. Information is abstracted for use in link analysis by generating links between the collected data points, including deriving links and inducing links. A link can be induced by linking together a pair of nodes that satisfy a distance function. Exemplary distance functions that can be used to induce links include geospatial proximity, attribute nearness, and name similarity. Paths can be identified between selected nodes of interest through a dataset operation, and nodes and/or links can be selectively included or excluded from the data set operation. The dataset can be augmented with pedigree information or one or more association nodes. Link information, including a trajectory and a connected path that selectively produces or excludes one or more intermediate nodes, can be displayed and/or produced in a specified format.